Grassroots Efforts

Citizen Action

Image Credit: courtesy The Butterfly Project

The Open Space Institute’s Citizen Action program fosters the growth and success of community-based organizations focused on environmental causes. Offering a range of technical and professional support and services, Citizen Action mobilizes newly-formed nonprofits to achieve their mission and meet their organizational goals.

Now in its fourth decade, Citizen Action has mentored, trained and launched nearly 150 grassroots start-ups in New York City and beyond. With a focus on open space access, outdoors recreation and environmental education, groups under Citizen Action all work in some way to protect the environment. Participants range from community gardens and local land trusts, to environmental educators and promoters of nature-based arts and activities. Many groups have gone on to become independent non-profits. (See list of alumni)

What Citizen Action Offers

When participating with Citizen Action, groups gain support:

Offering workshops and seminars to help grow the project
Managing grants, contracts and donors
Meeting strategic goals and outcomes
Administering monthly and quarterly financial reports
Serving as a fiscal agent to provide tax-exempt status

Our groups

Donate directly to a Citizen Action Group

Make a donation to one of more than 20 groups today.

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For information and inquiries

Jessica Watson

Conservation Communities Director

[email protected] 212.356.4288

1350 Broadway Suite 201, New York, New York 10018

Christopher Park Alliance

Christopher Park Alliance stewards its namesake park in the heart of historic Greenwich Village. Created in 1837, the .19-acre Christopher Park was made a National Historic Landmark in 2016 to commemorate its role in the Stonewall Riots of 1969. The park is also home to two monuments honoring Civil War heroes.
Friends of Bleecker Playground

Friends of Bleecker Playground is a group of volunteers who organized to support and improve a local playground and garden in the West Village of Manhattan. Initially launched as a project of the OSI-sponsored Abingdon Square Alliance, which has since developed independently. The annual Bleecker Street Bash helps raise funds to improve the playground. Contact: [email protected]
 Climate Cost Project

The Climate Cost Project is a grassroots educational and documentary project addressing the current impacts of climate change. Co-designed by a pair of environmental economists, the Project allows participants to document the costs of climate change in their own communities through learning, creativity, and direct engagement.
HarborLab

Learning, adventure, boating: HarborLAB provides canoeing and kayaking programs for ecological and social good. This NYC watershed group provides free educational programming for youngsters to learn about the ecosystems in the East River.
Friends of Gulick Park

Friends of Gulick Park improves Luther Gulick Park (also known as Sheriff Park) on Manhattan’s Lower East Side. Representing an ethnically diverse neighborhood, their mission is to create a unified, safe and inviting green space for the entire community to enjoy active recreation and quiet activities. They have partnered with other community groups to beautify the park with trees, and solicit design ideas from residents.
PopUP Forest: Times Square

A "crazy PR event for nature," PopUP aims to replicate a real woodland in the heart of New York City. This lively green space will support wildlife and delight urbanites—then disappear after three weeks. The project's Kickstarter campaign received global media coverage, including CBS TV News, Paris Metro and German public radio. Contact: [email protected]
Biomimicry NYC

Biomimcry NYC is a regional network aiming to create a more sustainable community in the New York Metropolitan region. In collaboration with the Montana-based consultancy Biomimicry 3.8 (also called B3.8), the network is an active consortium of leaders in design, engineering, architecture, life science, communications, business, academia, and city planning.

Contact: [email protected]
 Black Urban Growers

Black Urban Growers (BUGS) brings together predominantly black, low-income communities to focus on developing community-based solutions to food access issues. Their annual conference facilitates sharing of strategies and best practices among urban gardeners throughout the city, and encourages their participation in policy discussions on the food system. Contact: [email protected]
Forever Rural

The project focuses on promoting and implementing youth outdoor educational programs. The group works with school districts, teachers and local landowners to create outdoor classroom sites where students will go for outdoor learning experiences throughout the school year.
Contact: [email protected]
Growing Chefs

Founded in 2005, Growing Chefs’ principal mission is to connect people to food, from the soil to the kitchen and from the field to the fork. Headed by renouned chef Annie Novak, the program is geared towards children and young adults, and the sessions are divided between time in the garden and time in the kitchen. Growing Chefs empowers children and young adults by teaching them how to have a strong ecological impact through something they do everyday: eat. Contact: [email protected]
Honoring the Future®

Honoring the Future® harnesses the power of art to educate and engage the public on climate change. They develop arts-based curricula while building a global platform for student artwork and engaging teacher lesson plans on climate change, and create inspiring climate-related art exhibitions. Contact: [email protected]
Isham Park Recreation Program

IPRP offers educational, horticultural and culturally engaging programming for youth and the community-at-large around the continued development, maintenance and preservation of Bruce’s Garden, Ginkgo Tree Hill, the Memorial Slope and other areas within Isham Park. The group operates within the Community of Inwood and Northern Manhattan. Contact: [email protected]
Sprout Up

Sprout Up provides free, college student-led environmental education programs to 1st and 2nd grade classrooms throughout New York City. They teach children vital concepts in environmental science, sustainability and the unique New York City ecosystem that surrounds them.
Talk Trash City

Talk Trash City is a series of fun, energetic conversations intended to critique fresh ideas about handling NYC's waste. Their aim is to create a vibrant and useful dialogue between industry experts and innovators so that ambitious goals can become real, sustainable progress.