Battery Urban Farm

Overview | Accomplishments | Visit Us | FAQs | Learn More | Contact Us

The Battery Urban Farm is an organic, educational farm located at the tip of Manhattan in historic Battery Park.

We’re hiring! See our open positions here.

 

Our Mission

  • To provide an outdoor classroom to inspire and educate student farmers and the general public.
  • To promote healthy and conscientious eating by allowing people to experience the joys and benefits of organically-grown local produce.
  • To foster a strong sense of community, both in Manhattan’s downtown neighborhoods and beyond.

Overview

The Battery Urban Farm is an outdoor classroom for local schools, where teachers lead lessons that complement the classroom curriculum, ranging from math and environmental science to history and art. The Urban Farm also provides farm-based learning experiences led by our instructors on a variety of topics, including composting, seeding, transplanting, weeding and harvesting. In all cases, children get their hands in soil and play an active part in tending and harvesting the fresh produce. Most important, in the Urban Farm, children are encouraged to taste new vegetables that they may not have eaten before, and share these foods and taste sensations with their classmates and families. Many urban children have limited awareness of where their food comes from. By working in the Urban Farm, kids see the direct relationship of seed, earth, and final produce. And, they get to taste it right out of the ground. Additionally, with obesity levels rising among our nation’s youth, we recognized the need to educate children and the public about good food and healthy sustainable living. With the Urban Farm, children and our local community experience what it means to grow and to eat healthy and great tasting vegetables. In addition to providing an outdoor classroom to schools, our farm also offers space for community members who wish to tend their own plots. We invite individuals, organizations, local businesses and anyone else — all are welcome! — to join us in our common goal of growing great food. Finally, if you’re interested in our wonderful produce but not in the growing (and weeding and seeding) itself, please stop by our farmstand! Our farmstand is open seasonally Mondays and Thursdays from noon to 6pm, and we always have a colorful array of just-picked produce.

Accomplishments

From the seed of this modest idea, a one-acre farm with 95 berms grew thanks to the enthusiastic hard work of hundreds of people, including Conservancy staff, community volunteers, teachers, residents and people working downtown.

Thanks to these people and our student urban farmers, we produced over 80 varieties of fresh vegetables and herbs, including peppers, baby eggplants, cilantro, tomatoes, and squash with the help of companion plants.

During our first eight months, more than 870 children, 11 schools, 50 teachers and parents, and 52 classes worked in the farm. Most schools visited once per week or bi-weekly, spending between one and three hours at the farm. In summer, small groups would also visit for “drop-in” farm-based lessons. All activities in the Urban Farm were hands-on-–learning by doing.

Here is what some of the teachers we work are saying about the Battery Urban Farm:

  • “Students really enjoyed watching plants grow from seed to fruit. Many had not known how common foods like tomatoes, peppers and string beans grow.”
  • “Students took the veggies home [and] some parents commented that new produce items were introduced to their children’s diet because of the urban farm.”
  • “I was surprised at how much my students were at play in the farm. They learned without realizing they were learning—seeming to forget that we were even at school. I was surprised by their curiosity and enthusiasm.”
  • “I’ve grown plants with my students at the greenhouse at our school, but growing in a community farm is so much more rewarding. The level of interaction and inspiration is key: my students get to learn from other people at the farm and share their knowledge with other students and visitors. … This experience has enabled them to have a sense of shared purpose and community.”
  • “There is a sense of responsibility gained in caring for plants – they are bringing this back to the classroom! The way they care for each other and the classroom is definitely attributed to what they are learning at the farm.”

Get Involved

We offer positions for interns, volunteers, adopt-a-plotters (community gardeners) and sponsors, and would love to have you join us! Whether you’re an individual, a small group, or a large organization, we have something for everyone.

  • Intern with us: We offer internship positions to those with some farming experience and interest, and will have more openings starting Spring 2012. To inquire about an intern position next year, send us an email at urbanfarm@thebattery.org with your cover letter and “Intern” in the subject line.
  • Adopt-a-Plot: All of our community plots are currently filled. Please check back later.
  • Sponsor us: We have many plots that would benefit greatly from your sponsorship and support. Visit our website or email us to sponsor an individual plot or make a donation to the urban farm! Your donation will go towards helping us with general farm maintenance, purchasing much-needed supplies and seeds for the spring, and much more.

Visit Us

    • Find us on Facebook! Click here to see what we’re up to and get a sneak-peek at what we’re harvesting on farmstand mornings.
    • Check out our blog! Click here (or on the “News” tab above) to read about how the farm got started, Rachel Ray’s visit to the farm, and more.
    • Schedule a group visit! If you’d like to bring a group by to see the farm, email your request (including your school/organization name, requested date, and number of visitors) to urbanfarm@thebattery.org.

 

  • Visit the farmstand! Check out our freshly-picked produce and stock up on groceries for the week. We’re open June to October, every Monday and Thursday from noon – 6pm, except in cases of heavy rain. Note: The farmstand is over for the 2011 season. We’ll see you in the spring!
  • Or just swing by! Wander in during the day to take a look at the farm, to inquire about volunteer opportunities, or simply to say hello to your local urban farmers.

 

We look forward to seeing you on the farm!

FAQs

I would love to get involved, but I don’t have a lot of free time I can commit to an internship or to adopt a plot of my own. Is there another way I can help?
Volunteer! Fill out our Individual Sign-Up Form, or our Group Sign-Up Form if you’d like to schedule a volunteer day for your group, school or organization.

What are you growing on the farm?
We grow a wide variety of vegetables and companion plants:

Vegetables
Arugula (Astro)
Basil  (purple, Genovese)
Bush Beans (yellow, green, purple)
Pole Beans (various Italian/French)
Beets (red, Chioggia)
Broccoli
Carrots (orange, Scarlet Nantes)
Chard (Bright Lights)
Chives
Cilantro
Collards
Cucumbers (Diva, Lemon)
Dill
Eggplant (Italian, Asian, other)
Edamame
Kale (curly Winterbor, Lacinato)
Kholrabi
Lettuce (Buttercrunch, organic mix, Mottistone, Romaine—Jericho, Rhazes)
Mint
Okra
Onion (Scallions, King Richard leek, sweet)
Oregano
Parsnips
Peas (Snap and pea)
Peppers (Italian, poblano, jalapeno, Asian, bell)
Radish (French Breakfast, Pink Beauty)
Sage
Spinach
Strawberries
Summer Squash (zucchini, yellow crookneck, scallopini)
Tomatoes (Big Red type, Green Zebra, Striped German, Sun Gold, Purple heirloom)
Tarragon
Thyme
Turnips
Companion Plants
Marigolds
Nasturium
Petunias
Morning Glories
Sunflowers
Flax

Where does the food go? Can I eat it?
Yes! We sell our produce at an on-site farmstand on Mondays and Thursdays from noon – 6pm, where you can purchase our fresh-off-the-farm produce for a suggested “donation” price, pick up brochures for more information on the farm, buy our tote bags, meet our wonderful interns, and sign up to receive emails from us. We also grow food for the Fatty restaurants, Fatty ‘Cue and Fatty Snack, both located in the park.

Email us to sign up for our weekly newsletter or check us out on Facebook to see what produce we have on offer in any given week!

Where did you get your seeds?
Our seeds come from a variety of sources including Johnny’s selected seeds, Hudson Valley Seed Library, Baker Creek and Seed Savers.

Where did your soil come from? Is it organic?
Our organic soil is a specialized vegetable mix that we purchased from Long Island Compost.

Do you compost?
We compost as much of our green material as we can fit in our three compost bins located in the “butt” of the turkey. We ask that individuals not bring food waste to the farm unless you have cleared it with the farm manager.

Why is the farm built in the shape that it is? What is the fence made of?
The Urban Farm was conceived by New York designer Scott Dougan, who designed the farm in the shape of a wild turkey in a playful tribute to Zelda, a wild American turkey who has resided at The Battery since 2003. Tracing a perimeter that evokes Zelda’s silhouette, including her distinctive head and tail feathers, Dougan with architect partner Shane Neufeld utilized over 5,000 bamboo poles which were donated to the Conservancy by renowned artists Mike and Doug Starn.

The bamboo is re-purposed from their internationally acclaimed installation work Big Bambú: You Can’t, You Don’t, and You Won’t Stop, which occupied The Metropolitan Museum of Art Roof Garden during the summer and early autumn of 2010.

How and when did the Urban Farm at The Battery get started?
Our project began with a request in November 2010 from students of Millennium High School’s Environmental Club, who asked to plant a vegetable garden in the park. Saying YES launched a farming initiative that now includes eight schools with over 450 students (K-12), plus a wide array of community groups, residents, veterans, and the neighboring workforce who long to give their hands and hearts to cultivating and harvesting home-grown food.

How long will the Battery Urban Farm be in place?
The farm will have its second season in 2012, and will ultimately be incorporated into the Battery Bikeway Gardens upon completion in 2013.

Learn More

For more information on our urban farm neighbors, check out the links below.

 

Contact Us

To learn more, contact Lauren Kaplan, Coordinator of Battery Urban Farm & Volunteer Services, at 212-344-3491 x20 or lkaplan@thebattery.org

To sign up for the Battery Urban Farm e-newsletter, click here.