CT NOFA > Blog > A visit to NYC Greenbelt Native Plant Nursery

A visit to NYC Greenbelt Native Plant Nursery

IMG_5269

The Ecotype Project visited the NYC Greenbelt Native Plant Nursery this week in Staten Island. This special nursery is also home to the Midatlantic Regional Seed Bank, an extraordinary collection of the seed of native plants growing from Virginia to New York.  Nothing like this exists in the Northeast… yet…

These folks are the true heroes of the seed sovereignty movement – with dirt under their fingernails to prove it.  Sefra Alexandra, CT NOFA’s Ecotype Project technical consultant, had a notebook full of questions answered and we left armed with knowledge and, perhaps most important, inspiration.

While currently we at The Ecotype Project are focused on developing a pipeline of  plants that gird our agrarian ecosystem, our visit reminded us that the plants needed to restore habitat at scale on coastal ecosystems, for example, may prove equally vital.  Seagrass to brace our coastal dunes for storm surges.  The baby ferns (photo below) will provide erosion control to areas of damp shade damaged in forest.  Farmers working to scale up local ecotype production for habitat restoration: a story we can all be proud of.

Recent Posts

Three (More!) TOPP Farms Now Newly Certified Organic

June 18, 2025

Last summer, we were proud to announce the organic certification of farm graduates from our Transition to Organic Partnership Program. We’re equally pleased to report the organic certification of three more farms, all members of our 2025 TOPP cohort: Steadfast Farms, Farmington Valley Fungi, and Autumn Harvest Orchard.

Read More

Report on CT 2025 Legislative Session

June 17, 2025

The 2025 Connecticut legislative session recently wrapped up and included a number of victories on important bills supporting local food and agriculture. Wins include the Farm Bill for Connecticut, the Local Food for Local Schools Incentive Program, Farmland Protection and Farmland Access programs, and more.

Read More

Event Calendar

  • Soil Health – 3 Ways

    September 10 - September 27 at The Hickories

    This 4-week intensive course for farmers and gardeners will study the physical, chemical, and biolog...