URBAN DESIGN & SUSTAINABILITY PROGRAM: WEEK 6

Dwaine and Vanesa talk shop.

It’s a wrap! The Urban Design & Sustainability Program came to a close on August 10th and it was an unqualified success. 

For our final week, greenroof and permaculture designer Dwaine Lee dropped by and shared with students what he does as a green professional.

​Dwaine was part of the building team for the Brooklyn Grange rooftop farm, one of the two largest in the world. Students visited Brooklyn Grange for Week 5. 

​Green roofs have many benefits to the building and our urban ecology. They conserve energy by keeping the buildings cooler in the summer, warm in the winter, and absorb rainwater. Students listened attentively and asked Dwaine some great questions about his unique livelihood. ​

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Anandi and Peggy

Our second UDSP cooking class is proof that you can never get too much of a good thing.

​This time, guest teacher Anandi Premlall, a founder of Sustainable Queens, showed the kids how to make fruit kebabs, pizza on English muffins, and cookies. Students are now certified gardeners as well as apprentice chefs. 

​The class was so fun Peggy Heeney decided to pop by as students honed their culinary skills then sampled their own cuisine. ​

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You might remember what an amazing job UDSP students did painting their two murals in Week 4.

We hung up both on Renaissance’s rooftop garden, in addition to their birdhouses. Seeing is believing, so we invite parents to see these amazing murals in person. You already know it but we’ll say it again: UDSP students have talent! 

UDSP students created some beautiful handmade signs for for our Tree Pit Project in front of Renaissance Charter School, which will be finished this fall. They also assembled some mini-birdhouses made of Popsicle sticks. 

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The students continued making compost and maintaining the rooftop garden like the pros they are. They watered their seeded plants and vegetables, which are growing fast. These include beans, sunflowers, arugula, and jalapeños They cleaned up all the container beds and tidied up the garden for the fall. 

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Brian made a bug hotel for the rooftop garden to encourage the beneficial bugs, which was his final presentation for Graduation Day. Ninety-eight percent of bugs help to keep nature’s balance. 

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​Speaking of final presentations, the UDSP crew worked diligently to plan and execute their projects leading up to the big event. We gave them carte blanche to do whatever they wanted, and they blew us away. 

But don't just take our word for it. Check out our post about Graduation Day and see what exactly they came up with. Plus, there's pix of our celebration, including the yummy food and visiting parents. 

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Author

Justin Remus is the Communications Director of Beyond Organic Design.