Individual Interpersonal Workshops

As part of our research project we conducted one-on-one consultations with residents of the five boroughs of NYC: Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, Bronx and Staten Island. These interpersonal workshops allowed us to gain insight into the ways in which our urban community is engaging with their outdoor spaces, and provided an opportunity to educate them on the health of their soil. Upon the first meeting, a team member plotted areas of interest or concern on the resident’s property to sample. A thorough explanation of the sampling procedure was explained to the residents. Once the sample had been collected it was brought back to the lab for extraction and processed to determine the level of nutrients present in the soil. After processing, a profile of the results is generated and a diagnosis is provided to the participant and added to our map of local soil conditions. A final meeting with the residents is scheduled to review the results and discuss procedures and techniques to remedy any issues regarding their soil’s condition.

Human Practices

The primary goal of The Soiled research project is to educate the public on the importance of healthy soil, and in the process develop a safer, more accessible way to test its nutritional values. To accomplish this we created a personal dialog with the 60 residents of New York City. We recruited participants by reaching out via email; once we received replies, our team set up appointments to meet with interested participants at the sample collection sites. The Soiled Project is designed to facilitate opportunities to reach out to the public about the important role soil health plays in agriculture, and in turn promote personal sustainability through education and community.

#06 - The Power of Nature

Traveling to a plot labeled #6, which was located far down the B line into Sheepshead Bay, a story of the power of nature was told. The yard I sampled was in a normal Brooklyn neighborhood near a bridge that led traffic to the Atlantic Ocean. It was an extremely hot midday, and while sipping sweet iced tea, the owner of the land was describing the power of hurricane Sandy. The house is located far inland from the ocean. Apparently the storm surge of Sandy traveled across the bridge a half-mile down from her house and flooded her yard. The saltwater damaged her yard and her plants. The power of Mother Nature and her ability to push a large mass of ocean water that far inland is surprising and alarming.

#09 - Forbidden garden

In the urban sprawl of Manhattan, green space is valuable resource. Hidden behind the facades of stone and brick, lush vegetation can be found. Having these spaces set aside from the public can make one have a sense of privacy. The city can be loud, obnoxious, and very public and not having a place of peace can be unnerving. I found one of these hideaways hidden in Chelsea behind a building housing a woman’s sewing studio, and the area set aside is still loved by the owner. Due to recent health issue the one thing she cherished, her garden, became forbidden to her interact with. She developed an immune disease and is currently unable to touch soil. One of her passions has been taken away by forces outside her control.

#12 - Farm nostalgia

Being a melting pot, most inhabitants in NYC were are not born, nor bred in the city. Immigrants, whose life has been transplanted, are the norm and urban life can be stressful to them. Having fresh air and nature so close at hand is priceless commodity to most city dwellers, especially to a model I met who grew up in a farm in Oregon. In order to be active in her profession, she had to make the difficult decision to live in Manhattan and give up nature. Her urban green space was used for mental clarity and remembrance of a past life, life on the farm.

#13 - Flatlands

I rode my bike to what is termed the Flatlands, arriving at an unusual place in Brooklyn. There were rows of small houses on both sides of the street that looked like a suburban community not native to New York City. The participant’s yard was covered in construction debris - stones, concrete slabs, and things of unknown origin. A peculiar old water pump of unknown origin was sitting in the middle of the yard. The collection of the sample was a challenge, but I was successful in obtaining a significant soil sample.

#14 - Secret Garden

This beautiful garden is secretly located in the heart of Clinton Hill. The owner of the garden has been working on it for 25 years. An experienced gardener, he gave me a brief overview of the different plants he has been growing here.

#18 - Mulberries

This location is covered in mulberries - I wondered whether this factor contributes to the lush carpet of grass or would interfere with the testing, which we discussed with the owner of the house.

#19 - Dry Soil

At this location, the yard is sitting under the shade of a huge maple tree. We are not recommended by soil sampling protocol to collect from under the tree but we still do since sometimes when there is no other option. Each yard is unique and equally important. There is no vegetation in this yard and the soil is tough and dry. I have to come up with alternative solutions for getting my samples. The power of my hand muscle is not enough to get through the surface using the auger. After stepping on the auger and pushing on with the weight of my body I finally get to the desired depth. The sample is taken and I briefly chat with the participant about the soil condition.

#20 - Bushwick constructions

I arrived at another location in Bushwick. This time the yard looks well developed, but the soil is covered with bark. I carefully remove the bark to expose the soil surface. Everywhere I look I see the sprouts of these huge vines suffocating the tree in the corner of the yard. The little pool in the center is partially covered with small white particles. I suggest that these are the part of styrofoam they use in construction next door. I share my story citing that the whole yard is being covered with styrofoam particles from a giant condo construction next to us. Somedays it looked like it was snowing. I called 311 4 times, I talked to supervisor of construction numerous times - nothing was done. I am off to my next location.

#35 - Gentrification

Gentrification has overtaken much of the city. Land is a lucrative resource as a financially stable entity. This location was reclaimed from a once shell of a building that was a playground for vagrancy. The property was purchased in Harlem and rebuilding the shell into the magnificence it once was begun by its new owners. Soil that was collected was previously buried under a layer of concrete, broken bottles and the remains of barrel fire debris. This tale has been told throughout the city for many years. It reclaims discarded buildings and transforms them into beautiful structures once again.

#36 - Shared NYC Property

I arrived on location to enter a rustic looking house in the middle of renovation. Three friends bought it together. This the only way in NYC to buy property with skyrocketing prices, one of them explains. The backyard is mostly concrete with some vegetation along the sides. It looks like an abandoned playground with different broken toys left from a previous owner.

#39 - Farthest Destination

After a long ride to Bay Ridge in a what felt like 90 degree weather, I finally make it to the farthest destination on our Soiled map. I am immediately offered a tall cold glass of water, which gives me a quick break to recuperate before proceeding to sampling. The garden is small but the participant has been working on it forever. So the soil has been altered from the original state to properly feed the plant life. We discuss how the dead reminiscence of the chopped tree could contribute over time to soil health. I carefully document all the details and moving on.

#40 - Prime Williamsburg Location

I was very excited to visit a yard in the prime location of Williamsburg. The participant works in one of very established restaurants in Lower East Side of Manhattan and brings different herbs to his small raised garden. He was very interested in getting the sample results since he wanted to expand his collection of herbs. Among others I got little samples of anise, miso and unusual basil to take home with me.

#43 - Only edibles

Some of the people we spoke to were not native to New York or even America. The backyard of a Chinese born designer in Queens is a lush space full of a variety of vegetables. Intricate and well thought out, this garden has only edibles and no decorative plants. This garden is used therapeutically and also functions as a supply of fresh vegetable for the owner.

#53 - Polluted Creek

Newtown Creek is the natural border of northern Brooklyn and western Queens. This was once a great and ancient estuary and wetlands are. Newtown Creek is now a walled-in industrial river and was declared a Superfund site in 2009. Masbeth Creek, branching into Queens, is one of Newtown Creek’s tributaries. This soil sample was taken from the bulkhead bluff that overlooks the Combined Sewer Overflow of Masbeth Creek and borders a parking lot. Questions persist as to whether a wider contamination occurred from the polluted Creek.

#57 - Inaccessible habitat

English Kills is another tributary of Newtown Creek. It reaches into the Brooklyn neighborhoods of East Williamsburg and Bushwick. Like in Masbeth Creek, the soil sample for #57 was collected from the bulkhead bluff that overlooks English Kills and its Combined Sewer Overflow. However, this small sliver of land is publicly inaccessible, obscured by a FedEx distributing center and adjacent to a railroad bridge connecting to New York City’s Department of Waste Management. Any natural habitat that exists here is routinely disrupted by refuse and as a depository for alcohol bottles and drug paraphernalia.