Green Rooftops of the Bronx
By Krissy Lewis
Via Verde’s award-winning architectural design served as one of the many vistas during Bronx Week’s five-stop Green Roofs Tour.
The Bronx Economic Development Corporation uses the tour to highlight various ways communities promote environmental change with an increase of greenery, natural heating and cooling methods.
Attendees toured the garden at the Bronx County Building, and then buckled up for a trolley ride to St. Simon Stock Catholic School.
David Markham, a religion and social studies teacher who’s been running the garden for two years, uses the garden to educate students about nutrition. Markham said his students grow tomatoes, make tomato sauce and learn the pickling process. The teachers at the school have also implemented the metamorphosis of bugs into their science curriculum using caterpillars from their garden.
The next stop on the tour was the fully automated Harbor House Greenhouse, which operates on top of an affordable housing complex. Residents in the building get access to fresh foods, cooler summers and warmer winters. There are also employment opportunities through the garden.
The farm recycles all snow and rain. It produces 350 cases of pesticide-free produce a week. Basil, lettuce, and other plants harvested in the farm are sold in stores with a label that says “Grown by sky vegetables in the Bronx.”
The fourth stop on the tour was Via Verde, a housing complex that received a LEED Gold certification from the U.S. Green Building Council for its innovative and environmental designs. The building encourages its tenants to participate in active gardening for fruits and vegetables, apple picking and applesauce making activities.
The trolley also stopped at the West Side Federation For Senior and Supportive Housing.
Many Green Roofs Tour attendees discovered things they never knew the Bronx had to offer, “I’m from Japan and I thought New York City is behind in eco,” said Kieko Inoue. “I’ve been to other venues, but I’m really interested in the Bronx.”