CUCE-NYC partnering to expand urban farming in Manhattan

May 22, 2015

Philson Warner and Christa Torres demonstrate Cornell’s mobile hydroponics unit.

Cornell Cooperative Extension-New York City (CUCE-NYC), a leader in farming programs in the city, will join with Manhattan borough president Gale Brewer to expand urban agriculture projects in city schools, public housing facilities, and senior centers. The borough will dedicate up to $1 million to such projects in the coming year.

BCTR director of outreach and community engagement Jennifer Tiffany also serves as CUCE-NYC executive director. She described a partnership between Cornell and Manhattan’s Food and Finance High School (FFHS) as a model for urban farming programs that support youth development and STEM education.

Our school-based hydroponics and aquaponics programs will play a key role in the expansion of urban agriculture envisioned by borough President Brewer. We already engage hundreds of New York City youth each year in experiential learning about science and entrepreneurship while supplying schools and local communities with high-quality produce – many varieties of lettuce, herbs and Chinese cabbage – as well as fresh fish.

At the recent press conference announcing the borough's urban farming plans, Brewer also released a report, How Our Gardens Grow: Strategies for Expanding Urban Agriculture, the result of nearly 6 months of surveys, interviews, and site visits with administrators of urban farms in Manhattan. The event also featured a demonstration of a mobile hydroponic farming unit by Philson Warner, CUCE-NYC extension associate, and Christa Torres, a junior at FFHS. A Hydroponic Learning Model, developed by Warner, teaches students through experience.

Additionally, Brewer and CUCE-NYC will hold an Urban Farming Symposium this fall to bring together city farmers and Cornell experts.

Cornell seeds urban farming in the Big Apple - Cornell Chronicle