ReWild Community Gardens Program
How the Program Works
The ReWild Gardens program accepts grant applications from committed groups of volunteers with rights to a feasible garden location with water access.
Successful applicants receive professional garden design/installation consulting, plants, irrigation, signage, on-site maintenance and weeding advice, as well as help in growing community involvement.
In return, community groups commit to creating a public garden space and weekly maintenance for two years. The 2-year engagement provides time for perennial plants to establish themselves, and for the volunteer groups to become adept at maintaining their sustainable garden.
For more information, email gardens-leads@rewildlongisland.org
creating sustainable garden communities
ReWild gardens promote biodiversity and climate resilience for a healthier Long Island.
They provide vital habitat for native and migratory fauna as well as insects. They also clean our soil, water and air.
These sustainable gardens incorporate native perennials as the major design component along with judicial use of responsible ornamentals that are non-invasive & pollinator-friendly.
Other ecosystem-friendly practices include organic gardening, composting and soil-building while eschewing pesticides and harmful chemicals.
This project is made possible through a grant from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, with support from the Community Chest of Port Washington, Long Island Community Foundation, and Dejana Foundation.
2024 COMMUNITY Garden Recipients
Gardens planted in Spring 2024:
City of Glen Cove ~ Great Neck Synagogue ~ First Universalist Church ~ Harborfields Public Library ~ Johanna’s Hope ~ Manorhaven Elementary School ~Oldfield Middle School ~ Peconic Community School ~ Port Washington Water District ~
River and Roots Community Garden ~
Sweetbriar Nature Center ~ Three Village Historical Society ~ The Vine Church ~
Third House Nature Center ~
North Fork Audubon Society ~
Queens Metropolitan High School
The following gardens are currently being updated:
Bridgehampton School ~
Elmont Memorial High School ~
Half Hollow Hills High School East ~
Patchogue-Medford High School ~
Rain Garden at Dodge Garden
2023 Community Garden Recipients
Bellport Garden Club ~ Custer Preserve Native ~ Plant Garden at the Arboretum ~
East Hampton High School ~
Ethical Humanist Society of Long Island ~
Great Neck South High School ~
Havens Homestead Native Pollinator Garden ~
NYS Leah Homeschool ~
ReWild Garden at Dodge Homestead ~
Rocky Point Historical Society ~
Sands Willets House ~
Sustainability Garden by Liberty Utilities ~
Willow Road Elementary School ~
Zion Episcopal Church
creating sustainable garden communities
ReWild gardens promote biodiversity and climate resilience for a healthier Long Island.
They provide vital habitat for native and migratory fauna as well as insects. They also clean our soil, water and air.
These sustainable gardens incorporate native perennials as the major design component along with judicial use of responsible ornamentals that are non-invasive & pollinator-friendly.
Other ecosystem-friendly practices include organic gardening, composting and soil-building while eschewing pesticides and harmful chemicals.
ReWild's Mission
ReWild promotes sustainable landscaping to enhance climate resilience, biodiversity, and environmental quality, for the health of Long Island’s soils and shores, pollinators and people.
The ReWild Gardens program is central to this mission, creating public rewilding spaces that blend beauty with sustainability. These community gardens serve as living examples, educating neighbors about eco-friendly landscaping practices and inspiring wider adoption across Long Island.
A brief history of the program
In November 2022, ReWild Long Island received a grant from the Long Island Community Foundation to create sustainable gardens. ReWild’s call for participants across Long Island received an overwhelming response.
We launched the ReWild Gardens Program the following spring with 11 gardens headed by schools, congregations, historic societies, and garden clubs. By the end of 2024, there will be some 30 ReWild gardens across Long Island.
MEEt our team
Samantha Jo, Master Composter, certified in Permaculture Design and experienced in regenerative agriculture and an accomplished home gardener serves as Garden Project Manager
Maggie Muzante, a Farmingdale State College graduate with a passion for creating gardens as well as a photographer and artist, serves as Gardens Consultant
Nancy Depas Reinertsen and Ralph Reinertsen, community organizers and gardeners as well Slow Food East End leaders, serve as Program Co-Chairs. Nancy is also a ReWild Board Member
Raju Rajan, co-founder of ReWild and Board President, serves as Program Co-Chair
