BIG!Blooms
Recent Projects & Application:
Build It Green!NYC helps to donate used wood scaffolding to local community & school gardens in New York City.
If you are a scaffolding, or building material supply company, looking to make a donation, please contact Ellis Isenberg. Email: ellis@bignyc.org.
To apply for a donation, please fill out the application at the bottom of this page. Trouble with the application? Email: jaclyn@bignyc.org.
Here are some tips on how to plan and build your raised garden beds!
- From About.com "How To Build Raised Garden Beds"
Brownsville Student Farm Project (Spring/Summer 2012) - BIG!Blooms Recipient
There are thousands of acres of abandoned lots in New York owned by the city. We are starting with a space in Brownsville. At the corner of Sutter and Rockaway Avenue, across from Public School 323, is our sunny 8,000 square foot corner lot, currently full of weeds and trash. We will transform this lot into a urban teaching farm that will beautify the neighborhood, educate local youth, and provide a source of fresh produce for the community.
Sprout Farms (Spring 2012) - BIG!Blooms Recipient
Sprout Farms is a project dedicated to urban agriculture. We are fiscally sponsored by Open Space Institute, Inc. through its Citizen Action Program. Sprout establishes educational spaces for students and community members to learn about food systems through gardens and projects related to the food and waste cycle. Sprout partners with schools to develop educational programming to teach plant care, nutrition, and environmental stewardship. Sprout's summer programming connects students and their communities with food production during the peak growing season to provide a deeper understanding of the food we eat. Sprout works to reduce its impact on the environment by using recycled and refurbished materials and partnering with like-minded organizations.
Queens Botanical Garden - Intergenerational Garden (Spring/Summer 2012) - BIG!Blooms Recipient
From thematic gardens and historic plantings recalling QBG’s World’s Fair origins to new gardens showcasing native species and sustainable landscape practices, our collections represent the expert horticultural knowledge, artistry, and commitment to environmental education and public service that have been hallmarks of QBG for more than 60 years.
Brooklyn Queens Land Trust (Spring/Summer 2012) - BIG!Blooms Recipient
"Grounded in Community Gardens in Brooklyn and Queens, New York City"
Thanks to the generous support of BIG!BLOOMS, a program of Build It Green! NYC, BQLT has been able to deliver nearly one hundred pieces of lumber to seven BQLT community gardens in Brooklyn and Queens so far this season. The lumber is repurposed from retired scaffolding boards and is used to build raised vegetable beds, an excellent second use for this material. BQLT looks forward to receiving more lumber and distributing it to additional gardens this Spring.
To apply for our BIG!Blooms scaffolding donation program, please fill out the form below:
(click the REFRESH button on your browser if the form does not appear below) Please contact Jaclyn Jablkowski if you have any trouble with the form below. Email: jaclyn@bignyc.org.
*Please note: Build It Green!NYC provides lumber on a first come, first served basis. Please await an approval email before arranging to pick up materials.
Since this is used lumber, and we do not know the origins of the wood, you may want to line your beds to prevent roots from penetrating contaminiated soil, and extend the liner up the walls of the raised bed. Painting properly with a safe latex based paint will also help. FYI- treated lumber can usually be identified by a distinctive green hue when cut, and it also seems 50% heavier than normal planks.
MARCH 2012
Press Release
"A Second Life for Scaffolding"
Available here
Two Coves Garden Update
Recently we were updated on the progress of used scaffolding being re-used as raised beds for Two Coves Community Garden in Astoria. United Hoisting and Scaffolding in Long Island City contributed the used scaffolding which had expired its use in the construction world, only to be re-purposed as new raised beds for Two Coves' garden!
BIG!NYC has a new program, BIG!Blooms, to assist local community and school gardens find used building materials to assist with the structure of the gardens. Used wooden scaffolding may not be suitable for building projects anymore, but it's perfect to support raised beds!
BIG!Blooms has already assisted Two Coves in Astoria and NYCHA gardens in the Bronx, thanks to the scaffolding provided by United Hoisting and Scaffolding. Check out pictures from Two Coves here!
Scaffolding + Spring Planning = BIG!Blooms (February 12, 2012)
Ever wonder what happens when the ugly scaffolding in front of your favorite corner store comes down? Well, after the scaffolding has been used for construction purposes, it is retired and sent to a landfill. Build It Green!NYC saw an opportunity to help divert the wood from the waste stream and provide free materials to local gardens. 
BIG!Blooms began last year, and has already diverted 3,000 boards of scaffolding lumber to be used as raised garden beds, tree guards, and compost bins for local community and school gardens. One of the early donors for this program is local LIC company, United Hoisting and Scaffolding. "I have got to say, it feels great seeing the end result with the product we donate," said Joe Covello, Vice President at UHSC. "Seeing the joy in the people's faces and the benefit we bring to their communities is what make us continue to donate to BIG!NYC." Another big scaffolding donor is NJ based, Ace Scaffolding. Last November they delivered two truck loads of used boards to GreenThumb's yard, and will soon be used for building raised garden beds at schools in Queens.
