named programs · 5 · from sources
What they call their work
Green Team
Paid summer apprenticeship program for teens focused on environmental stewardship, green infrastructure maintenance, and urban conservation work in Gowanus. Includes field work, Citizen Pruner certification, and environmental education.
RAIN Coalition
Citywide initiative co-founded by GCC to improve rain garden stewardship across NYC, combining maintenance, community education, and workforce development in environmentally impacted neighborhoods.
Rain Garden Stewardship
Program to maintain and advocate for green infrastructure in the Gowanus Watershed, including bioswales and rain gardens that reduce combined sewer overflow and mitigate flooding.
STEM Gowanus Curriculum
Curriculum and educational resources for schools on local environmental issues including water quality, urban forestry, and climate resilience.
Urban Ecology Field Trips
Environmental education field trips for school groups focused on Gowanus Canal ecology, stormwater management, and urban conservation.
activities · 9 groups
What they do
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Horticultural Education and Community Gardening 2 activities
- Operation of Lowlands Nursery for native plant propagationOperates the Lowlands Nursery as a mission-driven, not-for-profit community nursery with regular open hours on Thursdays and Saturdays, propagating and selling urban-adapted native plants to individuals, institutions, and designers; all proceeds support education and stewardship programs, with discounts offered to schools, community gardens, block associations, and GCC Sustainers.
- Urban forestry and tree stewardshipWorks with 16 blocks and 33 Tree Ambassadors to perform tree stewardship, including 33 tree bed expansions and installation of 75 tree guards since 2018, and conducts research using street tree inventories and soil moisture sensors to assess urban forest health and stormwater performance.
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Community Stewardship Volunteer Programs 1 activity
- Capacity building through bioswale stewardship trainingPiloted a Bioswale Stewardship Training Program between 2014 and 2017, resulting in the creation of a rain garden stewardship manual used in education and volunteer programs to build community capacity for green infrastructure maintenance.
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Community Environmental Monitoring and Research 1 activity
- Community science and water quality monitoringLeads community science field trips and student-focused urban ecology programs in which volunteers and students collect water quality data and participate in biodiversity surveys to inform restoration efforts and environmental education around the Gowanus Canal.
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Community Composting & Organic Waste Diversion 1 activity
- Composting and soil health programmingOperates a compost facility that processes up to 150 tons of organic material annually, uses compost to amend soils in community gardens and restoration sites, and runs the Composting Gowanus Initiative to promote organic waste recycling and soil health in the local community.
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Urban Resilience Planning & Advocacy 1 activity
- Development and advocacy for the Gowanus Lowlands Master PlanDeveloped a master plan envisioning a network of parks and public spaces connected to the Gowanus Canal watershed, engages in ongoing community outreach for input, and plans to implement the Gowanus Lowlands Master Plan through collaboration with stakeholders in policy, planning, and development.
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Onsite & Outreach Environmental Education Programs 1 activity
- Environmental education and STEM curriculum developmentDevelops and delivers a STEM-based curriculum focused on the Gowanus Canal, provides educational resources and walking tours, and offers field trips for students centered on urban ecology and environmental stewardship.
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Ecological Habitat Restoration 1 activity
- Habitat restoration and urban greening initiativesConducts habitat restoration projects using native plants propagated at Lowlands Nursery, manages the Gowanus Lowlands initiative to create resilient, interconnected green spaces, and maintains multiple community green spaces including the Salt Lot, 3rd and 3rd site, and Sponge Park to enhance biodiversity and public access.
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Youth Workforce Development in Food & Environment 1 activity
- Youth employment and training through Green Team and apprenticeship programsEmploys local youth through the Green Team program and a paid summer apprenticeship program for teens, providing hands-on field work, training in green infrastructure maintenance and urban conservation, Citizen Pruner certification, and educational trips to parks and restoration sites across New York City.
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Uncategorized 2 activities
- Biodiversity research and bioblitz eventsConducted annual bioblitz events from 2017 to 2021 using iNaturalist, documented over 3,000 wildlife observations of more than 500 species, and hosted a large-scale 2019 bioblitz with Macaulay Honors College and Greenwood Cemetery to survey biodiversity in the Gowanus area.
- Stewardship of rain gardens and green infrastructureManages and maintains over 30 rain gardens in the Gowanus watershed, including the 6th Street Green Corridor (11 bioswales) and an 1,800 square foot rain garden on 2nd Street, to capture stormwater runoff and reduce combined sewer overflow into the Gowanus Canal.
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financials · form 990 · fy2024
revenue
Total revenue$1.23M
Contributions & grants$1.13M92%
Program service revenue$127K10%
Investment income$60%
Other revenue$-26K
expenses
Total expenses$1.34M
Program expenses53%
Admin / overhead42%
Fundraising6%
Salaries & benefits$750K
Grants paid out$0
Largest expense lineCompensation
balance sheet
Total assets$467K
Cash$3K
Investments$0
Liabilities$261K
Net assets$207K
Liquid reserves0.0 mo
6 years on record · 2019–2024 · YoY revenue -14.5%
leadership · form 990 part vii · fy2024
Who runs it
paid leadership · 1
| Name | Title | Hours/wk | Compensation |
|---|---|---|---|
| ANDREA PARKER | Executive Dir. | 40 | $82K |
board members · 21
- ABE NAPERSTAK — Director
- ALLISON THRUSH — Treasurer
- ANDREW SIMONS — Chairman
- AYA MACEDA — Director
- BILL DUDINE — Director
- GERALD NICHOLLS — Director
- HEIDI DOLNICK — Director
- JESSICA TALLMAN — Director
- JOHN C MUIR — EMERITUS
- JON KLEIN — Director
- KATE BLUMM — Director
- LEILA MOUGOUI BAKHATIARI — VICE CHAIR
- LISA MELMED — Secretary
- MARCOS DIAZ-GONZALEZ — VICE CHAIR
- NATASHA FARQUHARSON — Director
- RICHARD GREENE JR — Director
- RICHARD KAMPF — Director
- STEVE JACOBS — EMERITUS
- TED WOLFF — Director
- VIRGINIA MCENERNEY — Director
- WINFIELD CLIFFORD — Director
relationships · 54
Who they work with
- ARUP Partner — Partner and sponsor in the Gowanus Lowlands initiative.
- Big Reuse Partner — Hosts NYC Compost Project operations at the Salt Lot in partnership with Gowanus Canal Conservancy.
- Bronx River Alliance Partner — Founding coalition partner in the Rain Garden Action In Neighborhoods (RAIN) Coalition to advance rain garden stewardship in NYC.
- Brooklyn Bird Club Partner — Collaborative partner in habitat restoration and biodiversity monitoring efforts
- Brooklyn College Urban Sustainability Program Partner — Partner organization collaborating with the Green Team on environmental education and programming.
- Catholic Charities Neighborhood Services BK Partner — Community partner through which youth can apply to the Green Team program via SYEP.
- Center for Family Life in Sunset Park Partner — Community partner through which youth can apply to the Green Team program via SYEP.
- DLANDstudio Partner — Project designer and collaborator on the development of Sponge Park
- Drexel University Partner — Partner in the design and three-year monitoring program of the 6th Street Green Corridor.
- Gowanus Dredgers Partner — Collaborative partner in habitat restoration and biodiversity monitoring efforts
- Gowanus Dredgers Partner — Partner organization working with Green Team on environmental stewardship activities.
- Gowanus Improvement District Partner — Collaborates on neighborhood improvement and environmental initiatives in the Gowanus area.
- Greenwood Cemetery Partner — Collaborative partner in the 2019 BioBlitz and biodiversity research
- Guardians of Flushing Bay Partner — Listed as a partner organization in the broader network supporting green infrastructure initiatives.
- HeartShare Partner — Partner organization involved in supporting Green Team programming.
- Henry Street Settlement Partner — Partner organization collaborating with Green Team on youth engagement and environmental initiatives.
- Hudson River Park Trust Partner — Partner organization providing site access and collaboration for Green Team field trips and learning.
- Langan Engineering Partner — Partner and sponsor in the Gowanus Lowlands initiative.
- Macaulay Honors College Partner — Collaborative partner in the 2019 BioBlitz and biodiversity research
- Monadnock Construction Partner — Donated bricks used to line the garden beds at the 3rd and 3rd Garden.
- NYC Council Member Brad Lander Government — Secured City Council funding for the Sponge Park project
- NYC Council Member Brad Lander Government — Served as a sponsor for the organization’s work at the Salt Lot.
- NYC Department of Environmental Protection Government — Collaborating agency in the development and implementation of Sponge Park
- NYC Department of Environmental Protection Government — Government agency partnering with Green Team on environmental projects and education.
- NYC Department of Environmental Protection Government — Lead agency in the development of the 6th Street Green Corridor in connection with a regulatory settlement.
- NYC Department of Environmental Protection Government — Partner agency that has built over 11,000 rain gardens in NYC and collaborates with the RAIN Coalition on green infrastructure stewardship.
- NYC Department of Parks and Recreation Government — Listed as a supporting agency in green infrastructure and stewardship efforts.
- NYC Department of Parks and Recreation Partner — Co-developed the Gowanus Street Tree Management Plan and collaborates on improving street trees in the area.
- NYC Department of Sanitation Partner — Collaborates on the operation and redevelopment of the Salt Lot, including shared facility use with a DSNY salt shed.
- NYC Department of Youth and Community Development (DYCD) Government — Government funder and administrative partner for the Green Team program through SYEP.
+ 24 more
strategies · 4
How they approach the work
Named approaches extracted from this org’s sources. Where others share an approach, follow it to see the full set of orgs running it.
- Citizen Science and Community Education for Ecological Monitoringmethodology: citizen_science_educationBy engaging community members, students, and volunteers in hands-on data collection and monitoring of water quality, biodiversity, and tree health, the organization builds public scientific literacy and generates localized environmental data that informs stewardship decisions, because participatory science increases community investment and produces granular, actionable ecological insights.
- Community-Based Stewardship with Workforce Developmentmethodology: community-based-stewardship_with_workforce_developmentBy training local residents in environmental stewardship and creating green-collar jobs, the organization increases community ownership of ecological projects and ensures long-term maintenance of green infrastructure, because local employment fosters sustained engagement and builds economic resilience in environmentally impacted neighborhoods.
- Integrated Green Infrastructure for Urban Resiliencemethodology: green_infrastructure_networkBy deploying interconnected green infrastructure—such as rain gardens, Sponge Park, and urban tree canopy—the organization reduces stormwater runoff and sewage overflow while enhancing biodiversity and climate resilience, because natural systems mimic hydrological functions lost to urbanization and create multi-functional public benefits.
- Watershed-Scale Integrated Revitalizationmethodology: watershed-scale_urban_revitalizationBy applying a holistic, watershed-scale approach that combines ecological restoration, public access, industrial integration, and community history, the organization shapes equitable urban waterfront revitalization, because systemic planning across land, water, and social systems enables more resilient and inclusive outcomes than project-by-project interventions.