Those of you who are on my general mailing list (if you aren’t already, sign up here: http://evemosher.com/gallery2/page/contact) know about the inventory loss that we suffered in February. Due to some mis-communication completely out of our control, half of our modules (they were awaiting spring installation) were thrown out. It is reported that the plants were replanted, so that is good – but it is a loss of a lot of materials, labor and the time that it took for them to get established. (The modules that we have still have mostly done really well – the sedum spreading and the grasses growing anew).

So… we are starting a fundraising campaign. We’ll be launching a campaign (complete with donor gifts) in a couple of weeks. This fundraiser will allow us to collect money to both continue the original network of green roofs as well as plan and produce workshops with communities around the city who are interested in either creating a green roof for their community (schools, institutional organizations) or hosting a green roof workshop day for their constituency (community organizations, neighborhood and block associations).

If you are a current proud host of a module, watch for an email soon, we want to come check on the plants and do a quick soil acid test to make sure everything is growing well!

As always, if you are interested in participating as an individual or if you think you might like to host a workshop – email me!

p.s. i will try to get some photos up of the herbs right away!

October 19, 2009            646-492-1314

eve@evemosher.com

Patches of green sprouting across New York City

October – December, 2009

It may feel like fall in most of the New York, but on rooftops throughout the city, as little patches of green are sprouting, it feels a little more like spring.

Seeding the City, another public intervention by the artist Eve Mosher, is a rooftop installation 4 square feet of green roof (sedum and grasses) and a bright yellow and green flags with the project logo. The project, two years in the making, will introduce city residents to urban environmental issues and the role that green roofs play in creating a more sustainable city.

Before Mosher installs each green roof, she asks that the recipient put her in touch with two or three neighbors who are interested in the project. This neighbor-to-neighbor referral system creates a community network and gets people talking about sustainability.

The installations are being mapped and documented on the project site, SeedingTheCity.org.

Seeding The City is sponsored, in part, by the Greater New York Development Fund of the New York Department of Cultural Affairs, administered by the Brooklyn Arts Council, Inc. (BAC).

Mosher is an artist that creates art that encourages participation in the urban environment, her 2007 work; HighWaterLine received international attention for raising public awareness about climate change through an arresting public act.

PDF Version

flowering!

As we rapidly approach the launch of Seeding the City (in September, more info on participating), we check in on the growth of the modules on the roof of Covenant House.

modules on roof

The grasses are having a hard time, but the sedum have already started to spread.

growing

And some local wildcards have taken root…

modules

I wonder what kind of wildlife have been taking advantage of the greenery?

wildcards

sedum extended

The plants are growing now!

I was lucky enough to spend part of the last week working with the fabulous staff and kids at Covenant House New York. We were on the roof of their building in midtown Manhattan on two gloroous afternoons mixing the growing medium and planting all of the grasses and sedum. It went beautifully!

We used a mixture of potting soil (3 bags), grorocks (10 bags), sand (4 bags) and pea gravel (10 bags) to plant 646 little plants in 100 trays. The kids mixed their own growing medium, picked out the plants they wanted to use and designed and planted their own modules. Some of them did four or more modules!

One of the participants expressed his gratitude and said that he had never done anyuthing like it before. I had to agree – neither have I! He also promptly signed up for as many watering times as he could fit in his schedule! (I would too if I were a resident – it’s going to be fun to watch them grow!)

My gratitude to those helping with the planting, Huong Ngo & Colin McMullen (who will oversee the growing throughout the summer), my assistant Meg Whiteford, the amazing Tricia Martin who stepped in at the last minute to provide consulting and who so carefully figured out the plant mix for me and then showed up to help with the planting. And my deepest gratitude to Athana Kontinos who contacted me from Covenant House with her interest in working together, the kids at covenant house who volunteered their time to work on the project and the other staff who came out to help, especially Bret who is working with Athana on a much larger scale project to green Covenant House.

It is thanks to fresh ideas, a willingness to experiment and the support of a great staff that good organizations become amazing organizations.

They even got to boast about it on the international website!

MEC's green roof by 416style on Flickr

Over the course of the summer, I will be working with Covenant House to put together and grow the green roof modules. In a couple of weeks we will build the modules and plant the plugs with the help of the kids in the long term program. Over the course of the summer the kids will be nurturing the plants through monitoring, watering and feeding. In the fall some of the kids may join us to install the modules.

Through this partnership I hope to inform the kids about urban environmental issues through and interesting process in which they take on the care and responsibility of the plants. We also hope to give them knowledge and experience that aids in their own continued growth and development. Through the partnership we hope to introduce the kids to alternative art forms and methods of building and empowering community. We are all looking forward to a great season of growing!

Your support of the project is needed to ensure its success.
Just $25 will cover the costs of building and caring for a green roof module over the course of the summer.
$50 covers the cost of building and growing as well as the installation with the flag & signage.
All donations are tax deductible.

Please donate today!

1. I can use expanded clay in the soil mixture or Gaia Soil in the trays as opposed to the not great for the planet or weight of the modules slate that is used in the commercial mixtures.
2. I can try a few different seedum mixtures as well as try mixing in some different plant types – like native flowers or herbs that don’t require a lot of depth.
3. I can share the “how-to” so that people can make their own!

“Green” Roof_5-29-08, originally uploaded by jimbrickett.

This is very exciting to me! I have to thank Hans Hesselein for getting me started on researching the DIY green roof options. I found a great resource of information on the Reclaimed Home blog.

Now I have to find a garden apartment (or one with roof/terrace) to move into so that I can get to work on planting the modules – anyone?

Pumice

I also just received notice that the project received a Department of Cultural Affairs grant from the Brooklyn Arts Council, which is great news!

Finally I met with the inspirational and endlessly fascinating Josh Klein, who is working on (among many other things), a project called Seed/Bed, whereby he will transform an airstream into a carbon negative machine which will eventually find a home on an NYC rooftop where it will plug into the systems to help reduce energy usage.

One of the things he was pushing me to do with the project is to rethink coming up with a new type of green roofing system (I had considered that in the early days and discarded it). We talked about different ideas, roll out turf, seeded felt, but our favorite was the potential of impregnated exploded clay. With all of its water absorption and drainage it offers similar positive affects on stormwater runoff. It is lightweight and increases the surface area, plus there might be some plants that could grow in it with little to no maintenance. I am doing some, research, will let you know…

In the meantime, if you are a designer interested in working on the project pro bono – potential for a lot of exposure though – let me know. We can start with fixing the logo below.

Any other ides – get in touch!

So lots of exciting news!

1. I think I have found a roof! A friend of mine who lives nearby has a roof I can use for the 6 test plots we are doing. It’s a super secret location and I need to get an architect to check it out for me, but it is all looking really good!
2. I spoke early this morning with my friend Jim, from Pride’s Corner, he is the local nursery for LiveRoof and will be planting the plugs and nurturing the modules for me. He will be starting my plots early next week. They get to live at the nursery for 3 months (ish) before coming to NYC.
3. We decided that we would do half the plots with pure native seedum, and the other half will be a mix of native & non-native. (While I prefer the pure native, I also want to ensure that the plants will survive AND thrive, so we are testing them this winter).
4. Jim is hosting some green roof installer training programs this month – I am going to attend one! (I think that is SUPER cool).

So all is going well and I am excited about the updates. I will see if I can get some pictures of the plots to post for all of us to see!

*I am doing 6 test plots because I will need to check the configuration for survivability. Usually the roofs are extensive enough that the plots will all provide a buffer for one another. I need to ensure that a single plot, or a grouping of two will do well.

May answer, “Each individual module may have a negligible affect, but what would hundreds of modules spread across the city do to both our environment, our awareness and our social fabric?”

When you consider the potential of the project, creating potentially enough greenery on rooftops to recreate a Central Park in the sky? Now it gets interesting.

I have also been considering how to raise money for the project outside of the “normal” channels (i.e. grants). A couple of things have come up recently which I am investigating:

• ThePoint.com is a tipping point model for fundraising and social action. Get enough people to commit to something, and then it can happen. I posted the project on there with enough funds to launch the project, its a pretty high price, so we will see how close I get, but it does allow many people to be involved at a small level – it is a further exploration of microfinancing.
• Another idea is to exchange money for experience or special commodities from the project, this is based on the model of artistshare.com. The funding is given up front and then the funders are invited to participate in interesting ways throughout the project.
• Finally, my own thought of allowing people to “sponsor” grm’s throughout the city. Pay $50 and you would sponsor a grm in your choice of one of the neighborhoods. This wouldn’t be on your own roof, but would include your sponsorship information on the signage and website.

So, does anyone have any thoughts on any of this? Are there ways you would want to participate financially? Would you give a small amount for nothing in return or prefer a larger amount and a unique experience or commodity (if so what would that experience or commodity be?) or would you prefer to know that your funds are directed at a specific piece of action?