GreenBranches is HSNY's long term program to design and install high quality gardens around selected branch libraries, starting with the 54 still-functioning Carnegie libraries. When Andrew Carnegie made his gift at the turn of the century, he insisted that each local jurisdiction contribute to the carefully selected site and that the local neighborhood commit to supporting its branch library. For his part, Carnegie committed to providing the best architects, the best building materials, and the best contractors.

Grounded in the spirit of Carnegie's Benefaction, our program creates gardens with high quality designs and plants. Our designers are sensitive to the architecture and historicity of the site, and work with community groups and borough botanical gardens to implement the garden design. An integral component of GreenBranches is offering workshops to the community groups to train them in the ongoing maintenance of the gardens, and increase their involvement with the gardens. The libraries also value the gardens as programmatic space. HSNY's design includes the installation of an automatic watering system, relieving the branch of a critical and often labor-intensive task.

GreenBranches works in harmony with HSNY's other community outreach programs. Many of the plants and shrubs in GreenBranches gardens are nurtured by inmates at the GreenHouse program on Rikers Island. GreenTeam, our transitional employment program for graduates of GreenHouse, engages in hands-on educational training at the gardens. Apple Seed, our educational and environmental program in the public schools, includes field trips to the gardens for hands-on science and art activities. Read & Seed, Apple Seed's summer literacy program, takes place in the gardens; in addition to improving literacy, goals of this program include acquainting children and their parents with the resources of the library and the ecology of a urban garden.

This program has been made possible through the generous support of our supporters, which include City Gardens Club, EPA, Deutsche Bank Americas, Hudson River Foundation, J.M. Kaplan Fund, New York Community Trust, New York Times, Reed Foundation, as well as individual donors.

Please contact Kate Chura, 212-757-0915 x116, for more information.