The NYC Community Garden Mapping Project (CGMP) gives visitors the opportunity to view interactive maps of Community Gardens. Since 2001, the CGMP web site has provided detailed information about community gardens and open spaces within the context of their surrounding neighborhoods – e.g., vacant lots, abandoned buildings, schools, housing, etc. The web site is used by the general public, urban planners, community boards, city  gardeners, and others interested in New York City land use to help inform neighborhood planning and development decisions.

To access the web site, click here.

Using a web browser, users of the NYC Community Garden Mapping Project can:

• Locate a community garden by garden name, address, block and lot, neighborhood, community board, zip code, or borough;

• View information from the NYC Department of Finance about zoning and ownership of specific properties;

• Find information about a community garden including photos, land ownership, open hours, garden programs, membership and physical features;

• Send information to CENYC to update/correct map using the feedback button at the bottom of each page.

• Zoom in/out of a map and pan around a map to view the garden in context of a single block, neighborhood or larger area;

• Create maps showing the gardens in relation to other parcels of land in the area;

• View aerial photos from 1996 and 2004 of the community gardens and surrounding areas;

• Contact CENYC to provide us with update/correct information about the gardens;

• Download, view or print static maps of community gardens by community board or city council district (The maps were created in July, 2001. Community Garden Profiles by NYC Council District are using district boundaries as they were prior to redistricting after the 2000 Census so the district boundaries may be different now. Community Boards boundaries are the same now as they were in 2001.)

• Find information about organizations assisting community gardens in NYC;

• New site users can use tutorials to help them get the most out of using the CGMP web site.

The data, photos, and maps are updated periodically by CENYC using information provided by the gardeners themselves, GreenThumb, and other sources. Our partners have assisted in this effort.

The Community Garden Mapping Project is a part of OASIS (Open Accessible Space Information Systems), a larger internet-based interactive mapping and data analysis application to enhance the stewardship of open space in New York City. OASIS is a cooperative effort of over 30 not-for-profit organizations, city, state and federal agencies, and corporations.

Funding and technology training/support for the Community Garden Mapping Project has been received by the Council on the Environment, Inc. from the Youth, Community Gardens and Urban Environment Initiative of the Philanthropic Collaborative, Inc., the Levitt Foundation, the Conservation Technology Support Program, Environmental Systems Research Institute and Urban Resources Partnership and the NYC Open Accessible Space Information System (OASIS).

The Neighborhood Tree Project at CENYC 2007

From 2003 to 2007, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th graders from PS 45 left their classrooms with tape measures, meter sticks, diameter tape measures and handheld computers to map and measure the trees in their neighborhood. From one 3rd grade class participating in 2003 to 10 different classes in 2007 the students joined CENYC’s Lenny Librizzi to create a map showing the location of 158 trees along with spreadsheets showing the data they collected.

 At PS 45, 58 Lawrence Avenue, on Staten Island CENYC staff worked with students and school staff on the Neighborhood Tree Project (NTP). In 2007, PS 45 teachers worked with CENYC’s Lenny Librizzi to develop a curriculum for the program and 18 students took part in an after school enrichment program for 5 weeks to learn more about the use of handhelds in tree mapping. This work was funded by Councilman Michael McMahon. The NTP began with 1 class measuring 6 trees in 2003. For the 2004 – 2005 school year, CENYC received a USDA Civil Rights grant to expand the project to 2 schools. A second school PS 31, at 55 Layton Avenue, about 1-½ miles from PS 45 was chosen, affording opportunities for the 2 schools to work together and the experienced teachers to help mentor the teachers who would be involved for the first time. The project began with a daylong teacher training at PS 45 that the principal and 8 teachers from PS 45 and the 2 science teachers from PS 31 attended. In May and June of 2005,  7 classes at PS 45 surveyed 41 trees and 3 classes at PS 31 surveyed 18 trees. A Family Tree Day for both schools was held on a Saturday in June at Clove Lakes Park.

Children as young as first grade but primarily 3rd and 4th graders utilize map reading skills, learn the use of measuring tools, identify trees from their leaves and other characteristics, use estimating skills to determine foliage density and rate the tree as either excellent, good, poor or dead. The trees are located on a local area map that includes streets and buildings. The data is entered into handheld computers and maps and spreadsheets are generated to show the information.

The information is also sent to the NYC Open Accessible Space Information Systems (OASIS) www.oasisnyc.net where maps and collected data are included on this website devoted to open space in NYC. The raw data is also be used by the Northeast Research Station of the USDA Forest Service to calculate the amount and value of pollution collected by trees.

As a Science project the NTP became the outdoor laboratory session for the study of plants and living things. The measurements the students were asked to make were correlated to the math curriculum. The NTP also offered connections to Geography, Social Studies, Art and Writing.

One teacher had her 4th graders work on a persuasive writing project by writing letters to Councilmember Michael McMahon asking for trees to be planted in 4 empty tree pits that her students noticed in their survey work. Thanks to the Councilman’s help, 4 trees were planted in the fall of 2005. Another tribute to the success of the project is that PS 45 and PS 31 have included the NTP in their Comprehensive Educational Plans, a planning tool to guide administrators, teachers and parents for the upcoming school year.

The Neighborhood Tree Project successfully uses technology to help bring students in contact with nature. Handheld computers, GIS and other computer software are joined with fieldwork where a student has to actually touch a tree and make observations. An added benefit is that teachers can use the students’ real world experiences as a basis of classroom lessons in a variety of subjects. The students and the world can see the results of their research on the web on OASIS. This is something that students can point to with pride and can share with others while also learning a lesson about sharing information and working collaboratively. They can also see how computers and the Internet can be used for something fun and interesting besides games.

Follow this link for a PDF of the latest map and spreadsheet of the data collected for PS 45.