As you get off the ferry at Yankee pier from Brooklyn for the first time in the 2017 open season, a field of purple and green catches your eye as it sways in the summer breeze off Buttermilk Channel. You probably walked or biked right past this area last year, as it was just another one of the bare fields in front of another row of abandoned homes that line Governors Island. As you get closer to the field, you see bees dart from the flowering buds on each bush and hear their soft buzz as they work to feed the hive. A warm, summer wind blows towards your face as you enter the field and it brings a familiar scent: lavender.
Earth Matter’s chickens, rabbits, bees, and everyone’s favorite, goats, have been brought to Governors Island in recent years to teach and attract folks to the work being done at the Compost Learning Center and Soil Start Farm. This year, the Farm is introducing lavender to continue education on the application of compost to remediate New York City’s soils, as well as provide pollinator plants for our growing hives of bees. In addition, the field will be open for public access and workshops will be hosted on-site to teach groups about the lavender plant and its many useful applications as an aromatic herb.
Soil Start Farm Cooperators have been busy this winter researching appropriate varieties and developing a project plan for our lavender field. We are grateful for our volunteers and are always looking for cooperators to help with this project and on the Farm. If you are interested in applying to be a 2017 farm cooperator, please apply here.