NYC’s First Community-Based Hydroponics Lab Celebrated by UPROSE, NYPA, NY Sun Works, Sunset Park Community Leaders 

For Immediate Release:
August 17, 2021

Contact:
Michael O’Loughlin: oloughlin.michael@gmail.com, 917-957-9160

Lynne Smith: Lynne.smith@nypa.gov, 914-346-4656

 

New indoor garden initiative will provide

hands-on learning experience in an urban farm science lab setting

 

UPROSE joined with the New York Power Authority (NYPA) Friday to celebrate the launch and initial harvest of New York City’s first-ever community-based organization hydroponics lab. The gardens, which grow basil in an indoor controlled setting without soil, will offer learning opportunities to community members interested in sustainability and food production.

 

Funded by NYPA, the new lab was conceptualized and developed by NY Sun Works and UPROSE. Located in Brooklyn, the new lab builds on NYPA’s Green Classroom Initiative, a program which provides the unique opportunity for a hands-on learning experience in an urban farm science lab setting.

 

More than 50 Sunset Park residents, activists and government officials marked the opening on Friday evening with a ribbon-cutting, music by Bomba Yo and harvesting activities.

 

"We know climate change is going to disrupt food systems and supply chains. Partnerships like this are central to building the local knowledge necessary to address a common threat. This partnership provides a hands-on opportunity for our community, especially our young people, to learn to grow food locally," said Elizabeth Yeampierre, Executive Director of UPROSE.

“The New York Power Authority is pleased to spearhead and fully support this unique learning environment that offers community members the opportunity to engage in sustainability and nutrition activities by growing food locally,” said Gil C. Quiniones, NYPA President and CEO.  “Community-based projects like this – possible through strong collaborations like this one – can give local youth and neighborhood residents access to healthy foods and encourage them to become stewards of our environment. We are proud to be part of this innovative garden project and look forward to seeing the fruits, and vegetables, of this labor.” 

The launch of the lab comes on the heels of a recently released assessment report by the United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, which warns that strong and immediate reductions in greenhouse gas emissions are needed to limit the average global warming increase to a maximum of 1.5 degrees Celsius (about 2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) in the next decades. Yeampierre said that climate change will disrupt food systems and the UPROSE lab represents an opportunity for communities to learn and embrace innovative and alternative systems. NYPA is ahead of the curve by introducing youth and community to another way of strengthening social cohesion. 

NYPA has launched several hydroponic labs in New York City schools through its Environmental Justice division. This is the first one that is community based and not in a school. The program gives participants from inner-city communities the opportunity for a hands-on learning experience in an urban farm science lab and provides education about sustainability, food justice and environmental science. NY Sun Works is providing a science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) curriculum to UPROSE staff so they can engage with community members.

The programming will be done year round and the harvest will be shared with community members.

 

UPROSE is an intergenerational, multi-racial, nationally-recognized, women of color led, grassroots organization that promotes sustainability and resiliency through community organizing, education, leadership development and cultural/artistic expression in Brooklyn.