Ecological Communities Project

We are so excited that you are interested in participating in this project. The goal of this project is to support our local community in caring for our local ecology by planting native plants in our street tree beds. Project participants will receive native plants in “palettes” which represent a native habitat in this ecoregion, free of charge. These plants are intended to be planted in a public street tree bed easily accessible to participants and will be under participants’ care until they have established themselves and can survive on their own. Between the fall of 2022 and the Spring of 2023, most of the focus of this project will be on growing native plants from seed to supply plants for these local tree beds. See the next section, Community Native Seed Grower Network, for more information.

Community Native Seed Grower Network

Interested participants will receive native seeds, free of charge, which are derived from local ecotype plants. Seeds are collected following ethical seed-collection protocols from natural areas around this ecoregion, no farther than 100 miles from New York City, and are subsequently grown into plants that produce the seed distributed in this project. Local ecotype plants are well adapted to survive in our region, and supporting their populations is an integral part of maintaining healthy, resilient, and diverse ecosystems. Some questions are addressed in the following sections.

How Can I Get Involved?

We need interested individuals to help to start seeds into plants to support our local ecology, and you can do this in your own backyard, fire escape, concrete front-yard-slab, etc! Project participants will receive pots, soil, and native seeds to be sown, free of charge. We will follow instructions from the Wild Seed Project for starting seeds. The instructions involve sowing the seeds and then leaving them outdoors to experience the winter elements, as native plants from this region do in nature. Come spring, pots will need to be watered regularly. Some plants will be ready for planting later in the spring when we will come together to divide plants into habitat-specific groups for planting. Participants will then take home if they desire, a palette of plants that represents a local habitat appropriate to plant into their local tree bed. 

What habitats are represented in these palettes?

Plants will be divided into groups that represent species seen in either a Maritime Grassland, such as we see near our NYC beaches and coasts, a Floodplain Forest, or Bottomland Forest, such as we see in our native woodlands where we also have lower-lying, wet conditions, or an Appalachian Oak-Hickory Forest, as we see on taller forested ridges and woodlands. Nearby Forest Park provides an example of an Appalachian Oak-Hickory Forest, with patches of Bottomland Forest within it as well. All three of these habitats are local native habitats that provide homes to countless organisms. By supporting these species in our local tree beds, we can expand the range and strengthen the connectivity of these corridors and patchworks of habitat.

What if I am uncertain if I will be able to commit to watering my seedlings?

No problem! This project is designed to be a community effort, in which someone else should be able to take on more plants should anyone be unable to continue to care for theirs. You can also specify how long you believe you will be able to steward – or care for – these seedlings. You may only want to be responsible for the seeds until the watering time begins, this is fine. Any and every amount of participation is welcome and appreciated in this effort to support our local ecosystems!

Will I be able to get plants for my tree beds even if I do not participate in the Community Seed Grower Network?

Yes! So long as there are enough plants to fill tree beds for those who have participated in the CNSGN (Community Native Seed Grower Network), these plants are intended for public distribution and will be available to anyone who is interested in caring for them. 

What if I want to be involved in the CNSGN, but I don’t have an appropriate outdoor space to grow seedlings in? Can I still be involved?

Yes! There are lots of other ways to support this project. You can participate in the group workdays in which seedlings will be divided and re-organized, you can help with logistics, outreach, or organization, or you can reach out to (929) 777-6173 or email minihabitatproject@gmail.com for other ways to support. 

I don’t know much about plants or how to take care of them, but I’m interested in participating, can I still be involved?

Yes! We can provide as much information and support as you may need to get comfortable with the tasks required. It does not take any experience with plants or gardening to contribute to this project or start to grow seeds. More information and resources on seed-based restoration and local ecology will be shared with participants, regardless of their experience, as this project continues.

How will I keep up to date on the project?

Project participants can opt to join our WhatsApp thread or google group (choosing the platform is still TBD) to keep in touch with other participants. A brief seed grower check-in form will be sent periodically (most likely once every month or season, timing still TBD) to participating growers to track the status of seedlings.

I want to participate, but I’m worried I’ll kill the plants. What would you say to this?

If you are uncertain of your ability to keep the plants alive, we can start by giving you a very small, low-stakes, number of seeds. We are always here to provide advice or technical support, and can take back the seedlings if you feel that you can’t finish, no questions asked. This project aims to be based on experimentation and letting individuals participate with varying goals and inputs, judgment-free. Plants often don’t survive even with great care given, and this project aims to connect and educate as much as it aims to support plants and wildlife. We recommend that if you’re interested but nervous to try, you feel welcome to participate anyway and don’t worry too much about things not going to plan.

Will I be working on this with other people or can I do this entirely by myself?

When seeds and supplies are first distributed you can either work with the group on that workday to do sowing all together, or you can take your supplies home and do it by yourself. Similarly, when plants are ready for planting and redistributing, you can either bring your plants to the group workday to be dropped off, or you can stay and help to reorganize the plants into species palettes with the group.

What is a workday?

A workday will allow anyone who is interested to come together as a group to work on sowing, transplanting, dividing, or organizing the seedlings we are growing. They will take place in a community space (space is TBD). These workdays can allow for sharing of workload, skills, knowledge, and support between group members. Workdays allow a greater amount of work to be accomplished and are very beneficial to keep this project on a good timeline.

When will this project be taking place?

Seeds and supplies will most likely be distributed to interested participants in November or December, which is when the first workday will occur. Participants will have the opportunity to work as a group to sow their seeds and then take home their pots or may work on their pots at home. As temperatures warm up in March or April pots will need to begin being regularly watered by participants. Some plants will be ready to plant by late spring, whereas others will need to be continued to allow them to develop further in their pots until the fall. It is possible that a workday may occur between spring and fall during which plants that are not ready to go into the tree beds will be transplanted or divided into other pots.

Do I need to live in Ridgewood to participate?

No! You can live anywhere in this city (or ecoregion), so long as you are able to arrange to receive and drop off your plants at the necessary times. Hopefully, this project can eventually grow to encompass more of our city and ecoregion. 

I am interested in participating as a grower in Community Native Seed Grower Network!

We are so excited to work together on this with you! Please fill out the form below to add yourself to the list of individuals who we will contact to receive seeds and supplies for this project. You can also follow us on Instagram or join our Google Group to stay up to date on project updates by following the links below. Feel free to reach out to ecologicalcommunitiesproject@gmail.com or text/call (929) 777-6173 with any questions.

Click here to fill out the Community Native Seed Grower Network intake form.

Join our Google Group here.