New+York+Restoration+Project

//New York Restoration Project (NYRP) carries out Founder Bette Midler’s dream of a cleaner, greener New York City. To that end, NYRP restores, revitalizes and develops under-resourced parks and community gardens throughout the city’s five boroughs, working to ensure that every New York City resident, family and neighborhood has access to vibrant, green spaces. By providing enriching educational and community programming, NYRP also works to instill both individual and civic respect for nature and responsibility for contributing to New York City’s environmental sustainability. // About New York Restoration Project The project was started by Ms. Bette Miller who was concerned for the area she was living in. Quoted from an interview with Good House Keeping,  "//I was so upset; I didn't sleep for weeks... People were throwing their garbage out the window, leaving their lunches on the ground. Finally, I realized I needed to actually do something – even if it meant picking up trash with my own two hands //."  Ms. Miller took the initiative by recruiting friends and family to remove the garbage rom Fort Tryon Park and Fort Washington Park in Upper Manhattan. What began as a grass roots effort led to her founding the non-profit New York Restoration Project (NYRP). The organization soon established itself not only by making a visual difference, but also a social impact – particularly in under-resourced neighborhoods located throughout the city’s five boroughs. In addition, NYRP set the standard for greening efforts in New York City as a key player and partner with the New York City Department of Parks & Recreation and others in what was, at that time, the very beginning of a greening “ecolution.”  Overview of the Project Although NYRP is carried throughout New York City, the specific location which would be concentrated on is Pembroke Avenue Community Garden located near Little Neck Parkway, Queens. Currently, NYRP is focusing on four principal strategies of drawing upon its expertise and commitment to excellence in horticulture, landscape design, community outreach and educational programming, and coalition building to make NYRP the “go to” partner for revitalizing underserved New York City neighborhoods. In addition to becoming a leading advocate and partner in local greening and beautification efforts, NYRP further looks to become a model for other cities seeking to revitalize and restore neglected and under-developed open spaces. Classrooms and the Students This wiki and the project will be a great approach towards introducing students to restoring the earth and why it is important to take care where we live. Students will experience firsthand learning about restoring the environment and promoting responsible environmental behaviors. It is important for students to experience events personally in order to know and explain to others how important a topic or issue can be. The educational resources for the project focuses on third grade through middle schooled aged youth from public schools and youth development programs. Creating this wiki will allow the instructor to have control over the students work and progress throughout the project. It will also monitor what the students can access and what is appropriate for them to view. Hopefully through this project students will be able to communicate the importance of improving the future and affect other people surrounding them. Useful links for teaching resources: [] - New York Restoration Project’s main site [] <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">[] <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">[] <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">[] <span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">