This year’s conference theme, Many Hands, Light Work, celebrates both the invaluable role light plays in the greening of our city and the beacon that is community. We are delighted that Zoë Schlanger, acclaimed author of The Light Eaters, will deliver this year’s Wilbur A. Levin Keynote Address, illuminating the secret lives and hidden wonders of the plants around us. Participate in workshops, explore BBG’s grounds, and network with NYC greening organizations at a conference that has had Brooklyn lit up with excitement for over 40 years. A limited number of spaces for workshops, tours, and talks, including the keynote, will be available for walk-up registration starting at 10 a.m. Sessions will fill up, so be sure to reserve admission and arrive early! The entry gate at 990 Washington Avenue opens at 9 a.m. Online advance registration for ticketed sessions has closed. Please note that if you have already registered online for a morning or afternoon session, you may still join the walk-up line for an additional session. And remember, nonticketed activities in the Palm House, Rotunda, and Conservatory are open to all from 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.
Email [email protected] by February 21, 2025 to request ASL interpretation.
Visit bbg.org/accessibility for more information. We often recognize agency, decision making, and communication from a distinctly human perspective. However, when we examine the world of plant life, we can see that they too possess these qualities in ways that aren’t always apparent to human-centric sensibilities. Through the invitation to consider the potential of plant intelligence, Zoë Schlanger offers us a new way of understanding life on earth and how plant life has evolved in conversation with its surroundings. Exhibits Rotunda (no ticket required) Join the conversation, join the action: Look for labeled areas to sit, eat your lunch, and chat with fellow attendees. Workshops and tours repeat at 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. There is a different talk in the morning and the afternoon. ASL interpretation will be available for all talks. Reserved seating areas for wheelchair and ASL users at front of Auditorium. Perri Edwards and Althea Joseph, P.L.A.N.T.s, Kara Lesondak and Debra Sweet, Crown Heights Keepers, and Valerie Nero-Reid, HSVK Block Association
Caroline Bragdon and Martha Vernazza, New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, and Sam Anderson, Cornell Cooperative Extension
Maya Marie S., Deep Routes
Alana Curtis, Lory Henning, Nancy Hoch, and Arlene M. Roberts, Maple Street Community Garden
Marion Yuen, The MYA Group, and Samuel Pressman, Samuel’s Food Gardens
Loujaina Abdelwahed, Prospect Heights Community Farm
Joanne D’Auria, HortAbility
Katie Lobel, BBG
Suzy Myers Jackson and Brandon Otis, certified BBG Brooklyn Urban Gardeners Questions? Contact [email protected] or call 718-623-7250. Accommodation can be made for visitors in wheelchairs or with limited mobility. If you need additional accessibility accommodation, please contact us at [email protected] by February 21.
Meet at the Herb Garden. Steinhardt Conservatory, lower level Meet at the Lily Pool Terrace staircase. Click or tap below for full-size map.Many Hands, Light Work
Wilbur A. Levin Keynote Address
Light Eaters: A Plant’s Point of View
Zoë Schlanger, author, The Light Eaters
Schedule
990 Washington Avenue ticket booth
Lillian and Amy Goldman Atrium
Palm House (no ticket required)
Conservatory, lower level (no ticket required)
Limited spaces available; repeats 11 a.m. and 1:30 p.m.
Grab-and-go lunches available for purchase with seating available in the Café.
See descriptions.
Bring-a-Bag-Lunch Zones (no ticket required)
Conservatory, lower level, and Visitor Center Atrium
Meet at Steinhardt Conservatory Entry House, upper level.
Auditorium
“Light Eaters: A Plant’s Point of View”
Presented by Zoë Schlanger, Author, The Light Eaters
1000 Washington lobby
Workshops, Talks & Tours
Auditorium Talks
Something (Green) from Nothing: Lessons from Greenest Blocks in Brooklyn
Gardening is magical: You can start with concrete and dirt and end up with an inviting, lush oasis. Hear these neighbors reveal their secrets—from plant selection and community building to fundraising—to help you make magic on your block.
Rats, Spotted Lanternfly, and Beyond: Light in the Shadows
For many gardeners, the struggle against rats, spotted lanternfly, and other pests can lead to fear and dispair. Let these experts in the field shed some light on the realities and strategies for mitigating and coping.
Classroom Workshops
A Gathering of Stones: Stories of Communal Grain Production
A cornerstone of all human survival, grains are crucial for global Indigenous communities and their diasporas to gather and steward traditions of sustenance. Journey through histories of production and milling of rice, corn, sorghum, and wheat. Take home some freshly milled flour.
Community Gardens, Growing Engagement
Sustainable gardens grow community! Discover how one local community garden has ingeniously used design, layout, gardening practices, policies, and public events to foster hospitality, inclusion, and broader, more active participation.
Creating Urban Food Forests
Native food forests—even on a micro scale—are resilient, perennial landscapes that feed people, plants, and pollinators. Hear how these passionate zero-waste gardeners have successfully turned concrete and lawn into thriving biowebs, mitigating climate change and gathering community.
The How and Why of Seed Saving
Saving seeds and their stories is essential to preserving our past and safeguarding our future. Explore the science and practice of collecting and storing many kinds of seed. Take home some seeds to try.
Starting With a Seed
A great workshop for beginning gardeners! Seeds hold such potential, yet what is a seed? Learn the basics of seed types, life cycles, and how seed-starting compares to other ways to propagate. Start some seeds for your garden or windowsill.
Teaching Kids to Compost
Composting is an empowering hands-on activity for classrooms and families. Learn lessons and strategies for engaging children in this restorative process that tells stories of food, waste, reciprocity, and reconnection with the web of life around us. This workshop is for adults.
What Does Racial Equity Have to Do With Street Trees?
Caring for trees can be a liberating act of service and learning. The legacy of redlining in historically Black neighborhoods still creates negative financial, environmental, and health impacts for residents. Get inspired to advocate for and take care of our local trees.
Special Tours
Fruit Trees: Tour the Herb Garden Orchard
William Wallace, BBG
Growing fruit trees in NYC has opportunities and challenges. Learn first-hand what fruits BBG’s Herb Garden curator is growing and take away lessons for growing your own. Weather permitting.
Houseplants at Home Tour
Lacey Gleason, BBG Garden Guide
BBG’s Entry House and Tropical Pavilion showcase many plants that often live inside with us. Learn more deeply about these plants within environments designed to mimic the natural places and conditions they call home. This tour is 40 minutes.
Lichen Tour of BBG
Isabella Array, BBG
When did you first notice a lichen—the living things that grow on the surface of trees and stones? Take a journey to understand and identify the lichens around us and gain a deeper appreciation for these marvelous lifeforms. Weather permitting.
Site Map
Making Brooklyn Bloom 2025
Special Events
Saturday, March 8, 2025 | 10 a.m.–4 p.m.
Enter at 990 Washington Avenue | Free, in-person event
Image, top of page: Alvina Lai
Image, top of page: Alvina Lai