ABOUT EL JARDIN del PARAISO
- El Jardin plan: GaiaInstituteNY.org
We visited El Jardin during permaculture certification with the wetlands expert, Bill Young. Paul Mankeiwicz explains this process at the garden at the annual MoS Mud Ball Ball and Oyster Shuck.
This property is believed to be the first biogeochemical cap and storm water capture parkland in the New York City region.
Humus-rich soils and native plant communities were restored in order to capture storm water and re-establish natural cycles in a community garden in Manhattan.
Compost from New York City’s waste stream was used to establish soil buffers and create wetlands to re-establish habitat while mitigating historic lead contamination.
El Jardín del Paradíso is built on top of the urban rubble and fill of an old tenement site (like most community gardens in the East Village). In collaboration with the community gardeners who built it and in partnership with the NYC Department of Parks and Recreation, and with the help of NYC Department of Environmental Protection, the Gaia Institute carried out the design, development and construction.
