2024 ReWild Community Gardens Program Application Process
Update: applications are now closed. ReWild Long Island invites applications from community groups interested in creating and maintaining sustainable public garden spaces. We offer a short and painless process to apply for and gain our support. Our program is targeted at enabling small groups of motivated people to gain access to skills, design, education, plants, regular on-site maintenance advice and professional consultations needed to make a rewilded garden project successful. Whether you represent a small garden club, school, faith community such as a church, community club, or a well-established non-profit, you are welcome to apply.
Learn about community gardens already in the program here. For more information, reach out to gardens-leads@rewildlongisland.org
TIMELINE
Applications received by Jan. 20th, 2024 will be given full consideration. Applications received after this date will be considered based on grant availability. We will start interviewing groups by Feburary 1, 2024, and issue grants until we run out of resources.
Based on our assessment of readiness, gardens will be invited to start planting either in Spring 2024 (roughly May), or Fall 2024 (roughly October).
WHAT IS A REWILD COMMUNITY GARDEN? WHY ARE WE DOING THIS?
A rewild garden is a space that promotes biodiversity and climate resilience. We use this term to encompass gardens that feature permaculture practices, responsible (non-invasive, pollinator friendly) ornamentals, organic vegetables, composting, soil building and other earth-friendly practices. We welcome flowering gardens that use Long Island native perennials as a core component of the design (over 50% of the space), as well as vegetable gardens that primarily grow herbs and edible vegetables alongside native perennials (about 25% of the space). These gardens are important as “pollinator stopovers” which are critical to our native and migratory fauna and insects, as they clean our soil, water, and air to help make humans, animals, and the Island’s ecosystem healthier. Your garden should function as an invitation to all to learn about the process of rewilding, appreciate the potential for attracting pollinators and helping ecosystems, and most importantly, make it easier for your neighbors to adopt sustainable landscaping practices.
Working together, we aim to create a well-maintained garden space that is beautiful to humans AND pollinators, challenging the dominant narrative that rewilded spaces are somehow “unkempt” or “dangerous”, and presenting them as the new landscaping aesthetic and postive mindset for Long Island.
2024 PROGRAM EXPECTATIONS
We expect a committed core group that has identified a feasible space and secured permission to use it. We expect the garden to have a water source, and the group to have a plan for regular maintenance of the garden over a 2 year term. Depending on your needs, ReWild can provide you with professional garden design/installation consulting, land clearing/preparation, free plants, garden supplies, irrigation installation, signage, on-site maintenance and weeding advice, as well as help in getting more of your community involved with your project. We will commit to the same 2-year term of support that is needed for perennial plants to establish, and your group to develop expertise in maintenance.
Read below for more details on the expectations from either side.
WHAT WE EXPECT FROM YOU
A Team of Committed Rewilders:
You should have a core group of at least 3 people who are committed to the project for 2 years. You can be a formal non-profit or a church or a school or just like-minded neighborhood rewilders. We are open to a variety of groups.
Installing a garden is easy. Establishing a well maintained, weed-free garden with native perennials takes community commitment. For maintenance, we expect that the core team is committed to taking turns towork in the garden on a weekly basis for at least 2 hours between May and October during the course of your commitment. (If we can automate watering, then weekly is sufficient. If not, plants need more frequent attention than weekly visits.) Commitment to maintenance is key to the success of this program.
Further, the group must commit to 2 public events each year that helps educate the community and attract new volunteers.
We understand that “life happens” and people may drop out, so it’s important for your group to also have a backup plan, back up lead gardeners and a goal of attracting more volunteers to help you make this job easier over time.
Native Plant Based Gardening Commitment:
If you are planning a flowering garden, you must commit to dedicating more than half the garden to plants, shrubs, and trees that are native to Long Island. The other half will include walkways and access, as well as responsible non-natives. Responsible non-natives are non-invasive plants that are grown for food (e.g., Tomatoes) or as pollinator friendly ornamentals (e.g., Zinnias).
If you are planning a vegetable garden, you must commit to dedicating at least one fourth of the space to plants, shrubs, and trees that are native to Long Island, with edible plants constituting the remaining plantings. Our preference is for gardens that donate produce to fight food insecurity, for example, to a local pantry.
We expect your group to strike a mature balance between human expectations and wildlife needs. We understand that native plants and rewilded spaces have a different appearance than manicured lawns and conventional gardens. We expect a commitment to removing invasives, pruning, and trellising, as well as practices that enhance human enjoyment of the space. We want to grow the rewild movement and draw people in, while challenging them and the conventional garden mindset at the same time. That said, we do encourage rewilding practices such as composting, leaving plants and leaves to over-winter to support wildlife, avoiding chemical fertilizers or pesticides, and minimizing the need for gas powered equipment. We would like to see a commitment to creating a balance between human and wildlife enjoyment of spaces, while giving your group the freedom to determine what that “right balance” is.
An Identified & Viable Garden Space:
You must have an identified garden space with explicit permission for your group to use that space as a perennial garden. The garden should be for “public enjoyment and benefit” – in other words, all are welcome to the space, irrespective of race or gender or creed, subject to reasonable restrictions. Any vegetables or fruit grown on the space should be for public benefit (for example, donated to a food pantry or community kitchen.) It is desirable for the space to be highly visible – the goal is to attract more volunteers and rewilders in your community.
The garden can only be as big as the hands and heart available to maintain it. We are supportive of gardens as small as 250 square feet and as large as 1,500 square feet. But we do ask that you “right size” the garden to the work required for maintenance! The public impact of the garden is more important than the size. In this program, we are not looking to rewild acres of remote woodlands, but more interested in the public impact possible with a well-maintained biodiverse space.
Last but not least, you need a water source. Plants need watering, so you must have an identified water source. We can help you automate watering, letting you focus on other maintenance tasks.
WHAT REWILD OFFERS IN RETURN
Here is what you can expect from ReWild Gardens Program if we approve your group.
Design and Consulting Expertise: ReWild will provide a Garden Consultant who will come to your site, learn your needs in conjunction with you, and help design your garden (new or expansion) project.
Free Plants: Based on the design, ReWild will provide you with plants that are needed in your garden. (You will be required to pick this up from a ReWild location at the appropriate time for planting).
Publicity & Community Building: If needed, ReWild will help you spread the word about your project, so others in your community can join you and make the installation and maintenance tasks much easier.
Installation: ReWild will help you install your plants, edging, pathways and irrigation systems as necessary. We will work with you, but your group will be responsible for getting your hands in the soil for planting and maintenance.
Maintenance & Education: You will be responsible for coming to the space weekly (or as often as we agree) for maintenance. Our expert consultant will be available to answer any questions via zoom or email. You can send photos and queries at any time. We will also send the consultant to your space to observe and educate your members as required. Our expectation is that over the course of 2 years, you will learn to identify your plants as well as common “weeds” and invasives in your area. We will teach you simple techniques for making your garden thrive and look beautiful, preparing it for each season as required.
Signage: We will provide signage that will inform the public about your garden and its ecological impact.
Special Programs: We will supply you with “Event Ideas” that you can use to draw public attention to your space, and gain more members/supporters in your community. We will also create programs where the various ReWild Garden groups can learn from one another.
Duration: Our commitment will be for two years from the time of first planting. We want to give plants a chance to fully establish, and your group to be fully equipped with rewilding skills and resources, attracting new volunteers to your beautiful and prominent rewilded space!
GREAT! BUT I STILL HAVE A FEW QUESTIONS!
Please reach out to gardens-leads@rewildlongisland.org. We will answer your questions as promptly as possible, and update this page with answers to common questions.
OUR THANKS!
The ReWild Gardens Program is made possible by grants from the Long Island Community Foundation, National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, The Peter and Jeri Dejana Foundation, the Port Washington Community Chest, as well as generous private donations.
This program is wholly administered by ReWild Long Island.