Collaborative Projects with More Gardens Fund & South Bronx Unite

We are currently looking for…

University professors and their graduate-level students who are interested in collaborating on various projects with More Gardens Fund, South Bronx Unite, Children's Magical Garden, and other grassroots organizations.

Potential projects are listed below:

  • Interactive Online Mapping & Engagement Platform for the Waterfront Plan:

    • Create a living, interactive digital map that tracks and celebrates new and proposed tree plantings, sidewalk planters, yards, and open space conversions.

    Key features:

    • Community-submitted tree stories & nominations

    • Mapping of EJ indicators (air quality, flood zones, truck routes)

    • Integration with More Gardens youth curriculum, cultural events, and living art installations

    Tools:

    • Mapbox/Leaflet or ArcGIS + WordPress site

    Themes

    • Environmental justice, participatory GIS, green equity, climate storytelling

  • Redesign of the 40+ year-old beloved community garden to include:

    • Native ecology, nature-based play, water harvesting, pollinator beds, and seating

    • Willow structures, herbal gardens, compost systems

    • Co-design with children and families

    Themes

    • Child-centered ecological design, intergenerational learning, land justice

  • Design and build rooted and mobile living willow installations in sidewalks, plazas, schools, and gardens.

    • Shade canopies with sacred geometry

    • Artistic public seating integrated into planters

    • Moves across Open Streets or installed in sidewalk beds

    Themes

    • Ecological art, sacred design, urban cooling, healing public space

  • Transform parks like Nathan Straus Playground, and schools like PS140 & PS20 into:

    • Porous-surfaced courts and natural turf play zones

    • Amphitheaters with natural stone seating

    • Willow shade areas, indigenous gardens, edible edges

    Themes

    • Youth-led green infrastructure, EJ recreation access, rewilding public space

  • Design hands-on outdoor learning spaces at NYC public schools.

    • Willow domes, sensory gardens, compost, rainwater collection

    • Designed with students, teachers, and families

    Themes

    • Climate curriculum, public land use, green education infrastructure

  • Reimagine underutilized NYC Parks and DOT parcels as:

    • Food forests, indigenous planting beds, herbal gardens

    • Managed by communities and school partnerships

    Themes

    • Food justice, cultural landscapes, co-governance of public land

  • Support community campaigns to shift city planning and zoning policy:

    • "One Garden per 99 Units" proposal

    • Mapping housing density vs. green space access

    • Policy briefs and visual advocacy tools

    Themes

    • Land use justice, climate policy, equitable development

  • Co-create public art, festivals, and healing rituals tied to ecological seasons:

    • Chaharshanbe Suri, Equinox ceremonies, Nowruz, Solstice, Indigenous renewals

    • Living stages, fire rituals, willow art, soundscapes

    Themes

    • Cultural ecology, ancestral memory, communal resilience, healing justice

  • Design replicable, multilingual seasonal curricula for:

    • South Bronx and Lower East Side gardens, parks, and schools

    • Thematic modules (trees, water, soil, fire, air) with arts, storytelling, and science

    Themes

    • Youth climate justice, cultural ecology, nature-based education

  • Co-develop designs and policy frameworks to create permanent Open Streets in LES and South Bronx:

    • Community visioning and spatial justice mapping

    • Tree canopies, planter seating, art-activated zones

    • Inspired by Broadway transformation and DOT plaza model

    Themes

    • Mobility justice, green streets, pedestrian equity, community ownership