hi everyone! hope the holiday season has been treating you well!

the mulch team has been enjoying a period of rest and reset these past few weeks, and we’re so excited for what 2026 will bring.

thank you for letting us be a part of your inbox, for showing up to our events, and for your unwavering enthusiasm and support.

you are what brings the spirit of mulch to life!

have a very happy new year!

❄️ Andrea & The Mulch Team

Did a friend send you this email? I’d love to have you join us! I send an email each week full of rewilding inspo and community highlights, so that you can be rooted in the fact that we are real people making a real difference in this city.

howdy mulchers!

You know what’s on my mind this week?

I’ve been walking through the Union Square Greenmarket a lot lately, and honestly… it’s been doing something to me. The fresh wreaths, the eucalyptus bouquets, the spiced cider, the whole entire holiday market… I’m in full-blown holiday-nesting mode.

Last year, I got rid of almost all my Christmas decor — it was mostly plastic trinkets I didn’t love, and I didn’t even put them out last year.

But now, shrouded in the scent of real pine and seasonal greenery, I found myself wondering: should I let myself give in and buy new holiday decor? And more importantly, what’s actually the more sustainable choice?

So let’s talk about it.

🌲 Real vs. Artificial: Which Is Better for the Planet?

This debate comes up every year, and the answer isn’t as cut-and-dry as people expect. Here’s the quick version:

Real greenery has a lot going for it

• It’s biodegradable and compostable. Once you’re done, it can become mulch, soil food, or habitat material.

• Christmas trees and wreath greens are grown as crops. For every tree harvested, farms typically plant one to three more.

• While growing, these evergreens provide wildlife habitat and capture carbon.

• And of course, nothing beats the scent of fresh pine in a winter apartment.

Artificial décor isn’t inherently evil — if you use it for a long time

Plastic trees, garlands, and wreaths are made of PVC and metal, which carry a heavy manufacturing and shipping footprint. On the flip side, if you keep the same artificial tree for 10+ years, its per-year environmental impact can become comparable to buying a real tree annually.

The problem is, most artificial decor isn’t kept for 10 years. Trends change. Lights break. Amazon tricks your brain into thinking you need something new.

And unlike natural décor, artificial pieces don’t biodegrade. Once they’re tossed, they’re in a landfill forever.

🌿 If You’re Feeling the Pull Toward Real Greenery…

Same.
And honestly? It can be a lovely, responsible choice — especially if you do it thoughtfully:

• Buy local (NYC has tons of small tree stands and market vendors with locally sourced stock).

• Compost or mulch everything after the holidays — NYC Parks even has “Mulchfest” every January.

• Consider a live potted tree you can keep on your windowsill, your fire escape, or bring to a community garden.

• Choose simple wreaths and garlands made only of natural materials so they can decompose fully.

These choices keep the loop tight: local → seasonal → compostable → back to the soil.

And if you already own plastic decor?

The most sustainable thing to do is use what you already have, for as many years as possible. After all, sustainability isn’t about aesthetic purity — it’s about reducing waste.

So, I think I’ll lean into this holiday season

In a dense, built environment like NYC, the holiday season is one of the few moments where nature sneaks back into our communal spaces — windowsills draped with cedar, stoops adorned with fresh pine, tiny evergreens lined up at bodegas.

Leaning into real greenery is a sweet way to bring a bit of wildness home. And if you handle it responsibly, it’s a choice that fits beautifully with Mulch’s mission to reconnect city dwellers with nature in small, joyful ways.

❄️ Andrea

Did a friend send you this email? I’d love to have you join us! I send an email each week full of rewilding inspo and community highlights, so that you can be rooted in the fact that we are real people making a real difference in this city.

happy thanksgiving!

Hi everyone!

Just popping in with a quick note to wish you a safe, cozy, and restorative holiday week. Whether you’re traveling, nesting at home, or sneaking outside for a little fresh air, I hope you find a moment of calm in the middle of all the bustle.

The Mulch team is so grateful for each and every one of you making this moonshot idea into a reality, one plant at a time.

Mulch will be back next week with our usual musings, micro-challenges, and green-tinged adventures. Until then, take good care of yourselves — and may your days include at least one tree, one deep breath, and something that makes you smile.

🍂 Andrea

Did a friend send you this email? I’d love to have you join us! I send an email each week full of rewilding inspo and community highlights, so that you can be rooted in the fact that we are real people making a real difference in this city.

Mulch Social Tonight!

Hello all! First up, just a quick reminder that the Mulch team is hosting an open club meeting + happy hour at Pier 57 this evening. Join us to talk about all things re-wilding, and enjoy some in-person, IRL connection! Click the link below to get all the info. Can’t wait to see y’all!

Join My Musings

If you’ve been enjoying my little stories, micro challenges, musings, and whatnot — and you’ve caught yourself thinking, “Hey, I can do that!”, I’d love to hear from you! Right now, the Mulch newsletter team is just me (Andrea) and Mayank, and we’re looking to add another person to help make this happen every week. If you’d like to help shape the voice of Mulch, just respond to this email, or come say hi at the meeting/social tonight.

I’m keeping it short and sweet this week. I hope you’re all staying warm and cozy out there, Mulchers! Until next week!

🍂 Andrea

Did a friend send you this email? I’d love to have you join us! I send an email each week full of rewilding inspo and community highlights, so that you can be rooted in the fact that we are real people making a real difference in this city.

Hey there, Mulchers! Andrea here, with your weekly dose of Mulch musings.

Mulch Social!

First up, I would love to invite you all to join the Mulch team next Tuesday, Nov 18, at Pier 57 to talk about all things re-wilding, and enjoy some in-person, IRL connection! Click the link below to get all the info. Can’t wait to see y’all!

Autumn Stewardship

With night coming sooner and chillier days, I can tell the city is shifting into its winter rhythm. When I look out, I see the sidewalks and tree beds littered with fallen leaves. The instinct — especially in cities — is to tidy. Sweep. Clear. Cut back. “Make it look neat.”

But here’s the thing: a lot of urban wildlife depends on this so-called “mess.”

Many native butterflies and moths overwinter in leaf litter.

Certain species of native bees nest in shallow soil or shelter under leaves.

Ladybugs, lacewings, and other beneficial insects tuck themselves into dried plant stems for protection from freezing nights.

When we bag the leaves or cut everything down for the winter, we often remove the very places these species are trying to survive.

As I thought about what to write about this week, I realized how much value there can be in simply letting it all be. So, that’s my challenge to you all this week.

Protect some urban tree “trash”, and let that little ecosystem be.

Urban green spaces are already small and fragmented. But even tiny pockets of undisturbed leaf litter and dried stems can support pollinators, insects, soil microbes, and birds who depend on them for food and shelter through winter.

This is stewardship that looks like rest, but still can be deeply impactful.

I hope you’re all staying warm and cozy out there, Mulchers! Until next week!

🍂 Andrea

Did a friend send you this email? I’d love to have you join us! I send an email each week full of rewilding inspo and community highlights, so that you can be rooted in the fact that we are real people making a real difference in this city.

Hey there, Mulchers! Hope you’re all having a great week so far!

First up, it’s election week in NYC! Rewilding comes in all shapes and sizes, and practicing your civic rights absolutely counts. If you didn’t vote by mail or stop by a polling site yet, you still have plenty of time today. You can find your poll site here if you don’t know where to go.

Thanks to all who joined us for the Redhook treebed cleanup! Your presence was such a gift to the community! Special thanks to the Big Reuse team for putting this event together, and to District 38 for their support.

We have more events in the works! Stay tuned!

Mulch Partner: Big Reuse

Here on the Mulch team, we are stoked to share that we have partnered with Big Reuse to mutually support each other’s communities.

So, who is Big Reuse?

In short — they’re Brooklyn’s bustling hub of smart, sustainable action.

This nonprofit social enterprise is on a mission: to fight climate change by turning “waste” into community wins.

At its core, Big Reuse runs a terrific reuse-center where you’ll find reclaimed building materials, furniture, home goods­­—all diverted from the landfill and given new life.

But the magic doesn’t stop at thrift-treasure hunting. Their programs run deep:

• Community composting and food-scrap diversion are front and center—they partner with gardens, neighborhood greening projects, and install rat-proof compost systems to help local sites scale up.

• Outreach and education: Big Reuse offers Master-Composter courses, gives workshops in public libraries, and supports street-tree care with mulch and compost in urban gardens.

• Green job training and living-wage roles: Their reuse-center model supports skilled jobs while keeping materials in circulation rather than into the landfill.

Working with Big Reuse means Mulch gets not only material support, but also connects to a deeper movement around circular economy and community empowerment.

Did a friend send you this email? I’d love to have you join us! I send an email each week full of rewilding inspo and community highlights, so that you can be rooted in the fact that we are real people making a real difference in this city.

For a fungi to grow…

you must give it as mushroom as possible.



(We told you it was bad).

Did a friend send you this email? I’d love to have you join us! I send an email each week full of rewilding inspo and community highlights, so that you can be rooted in the fact that we are real people making a real difference in this city.

Hi everyone! I made a mistake and told you that we have an acorn gathering event this weekend, but we do not! If you were interested in going, please join us instead in Redhook for our tree bed cleanup event.

I hope this didn’t cause too much confusion! Enjoy the rest of your week, and see y’all in Redhook this weekend!

Hey there, Mulchers! Let’s just dig right in today.

First up, the Mulch team is very excited to partner with The Big Reuse and District 38 to host a sidewalk tree bed cleanup and mulching this weekend. Make sure to join us on Saturday!

Thanks to all who showed up last week at our very first Mulch social! It was so wonderful getting to meet you all in real life. I’m so inspired by all of our conversations - this is an incredible community full of driven, knowledgable people!

First Mulch social!

Also, shoutout to everyone who made it out to Prospect Park for our second acorn scavenging event! If you couldn’t make it, don’t worry, we have one more coming up. Check the event section below for more info.

Case Study: Barcelona - The City That Chose to be Green

On an autumn afternoon in Barcelona, you can walk down a street that—twenty years ago—was choked with cars. Now, vines trail over trellises, pollinator gardens hum at intersections, and rows of insect hotels line the greenways.

The transformation isn’t accidental. It’s deliberate, and democratic.

Barcelona’s Nature Plan 2030 is a gleaming example in how a dense, bustling city can coexist with nature. It’s less about creating parks at the edges, and more about stitching wildness back into the fabric of daily life.

An insect “hotel” on a Barcelona sidewalk, made from twigs, logs with holes bored into them, and other materials that are ideal for nesting.

So what is in the nature plan?

• Plans to install hundreds of insect hotels, bird and bat boxes, and native plantings to boost pollinator and wildlife populations.

• Focus to create green corridors and “superblocks” — car-light zones that prioritize humans and habitat.

• Ambitious goals to increase canopy cover and build climate resilience through biodiversity rather than just hard infrastructure.

• Guidance for community support through participatory design, so residents helped shape and maintain the new green spaces.

Aerial view of a “super-block” in Barcelona, where the emphasis starts on people and nature, and builds infrastructure around that.

Here in New York, we often talk about how green infrastructure could maybe help — Barcelona shows what happens when it does.

Rewilding isn’t just an environmental act; it’s a political choice. Policies like more green corridors, native planting incentives, or rethinking how streets are used don’t just appear out of nowhere. They’re voted in, fought for, and funded.

You don’t need to build an insect hotel in your backyard (though you can, and you should!). You can vote for the leaders and policies that make more wild spaces possible.

Did a friend send you this email? I’d love to have you join us! I send an email each week full of rewilding inspo and community highlights, so that you can be rooted in the fact that we are real people making a real difference in this city.

Happy Tuesday, Mulchers! I hope everyone is staying dry, and your plants are soaking up the rain!

Thank you to everyone who joined us this past weekend for our very first acorn scavenging event!

You’ll get this awesome infographic if you make it to our next event!

If you couldn’t make it, don’t worry, we have two more coming up. Check the event section below for more info.

Several times a week on my way to work, I pass the Union Square Greenmarket. It’s one of those quiet city rituals that I love — a reminder that beneath all the noise and motion, the seasons are still turning. Lately, I’ve noticed the shift in the stalls: tomatoes and peaches are giving way to deep burgundy flowers, piles of hearty kale and leafy greens, mounds of squash and pumpkins, and jugs of apple cider that seem to glow in the morning light.

There’s something grounding about this transition. Even here, in the middle of New York, nature still speaks. Rewilding the city isn’t only about watering garden beds or planting new trees. It’s also about attuning ourselves to these rhythms, letting the changing landscape guide how we live.

When we lean into the season — truly lean in — we begin to move with the world instead of against it. We build a culture that flows with the weather, that recognizes the beauty of each brief moment in the cycle.

So maybe this week, you bake that apple pie. Or toss together a crisp kale and cabbage salad. Pick up what’s in season, let it root you in the present, and allow autumn to unfold in its colorful, abundant way.

This is what rewilding looks like too — living with the season, not just in it.

Did a friend send you this email? I’d love to have you join us! I send an email each week full of rewilding inspo and community highlights, so that you can be rooted in the fact that we are real people making a real difference in this city.

Happy Tuesday, Mulchers!

I want to start this week’s newsletter off by sharing this incredible home in Brooklyn that one of our members share with us! We’re all a piece of the rewilding journey, and it’s always so inspiring to see just how much people can accomplish with some creative effort.

Living in the city isn’t a lifetime sentence without wildlife - it’s just a creative challenge!

This home belongs to the founder of EcoBrooklyn Living Walls, a company that brings art and technology together to create incredible living walls to make NYC greener and wilder. I love to learn about people who are living and creating a mission similar to our own here at Mulch.

which leads me to my weekly musings…

Last week, I sat in on a coworker’s presentation about soil health (completely unrelated to our jobs, but who doesn’t love a good geek-out?). He talked about the lush garden he once kept in Asheville, NC — one he had to give up when he moved to the city.

It made me think about how rare soil is here, and how essential it is to touch dirt. Not just metaphorically, but literally: studies show that soil microbes can boost serotonin, ease stress, and even strengthen our immune systems. It’s nature’s antidepressant, right under our fingernails.

But most of us can’t just go outside to a plot of dirt in our back yard. The NYC dirt economy is a bit more circular than direct to consumer. Some of us can drop off our food scraps at composting sites, and others work in the parks department or build living walls as a profession.

So how do we all access that grounding in our New York lives? A few accessible ways:

• Drop Off, Pick Up: The NYC Compost Project takes food scraps at dozens of sites across the boroughs. Many also offer free finished compost in the spring. Translation: you can hand in your peels and pick up living soil.

• Community Gardens: There are over 600 GreenThumb gardens in NYC, and many welcome volunteers. A couple of hours of weeding or planting, and you’ll have dirt under your nails guaranteed.

• Pot & Grow: Even a bag of potting soil and a single pot on your windowsill counts. Get basil, mint, or a cherry tomato plant going, and suddenly you’re harvesting city-grown flavor.

• Volunteer with Parks: Groups like Partnerships for Parks or your local conservancy often host tree bed clean-ups and planting days. These are open to anyone, no green thumb required.

• Houseplants, Bare-Handed: Skip the gloves next time you repot. The tactile connection to soil, even in a terracotta pot on your desk, has real benefits.

Soil might feel like a scarce resource in the city, but it’s more accessible than it seems. A little effort, and you can reconnect with the ground beneath our feet — even if it’s just one planter, one worm bin, or one afternoon in a garden.

Because at the end of the day, touching dirt isn’t about escaping the city. It’s about remembering we’re part of the ecosystem, too.

Did a friend send you this email? I’d love to have you join us! I send an email each week full of rewilding inspo and community highlights, so that you can be rooted in the fact that we are real people making a real difference in this city.

Happy Tuesday, Mulchers! I was so thrilled to hear from so many of you last week about your interest in joining the organizing team 💚 

In case you missed it, Mulch’s organizing team is growing! We’re looking for people who can help us with our branding and our social media content. We are 100% volunteer-led. If this sounds like something you’d like to be a part of, just respond to this email and I’ll shoot you some more info!

If you’re new to the newsletter, hello! We’re an open-source club of passionate individuals working together to repurpose NYC’s unused/open spaces as gardens, living walls, and plots made wild again.

I’ve been anxiously watching my bell peppers slowly ripen on the plants, knowing they aren’t going to make it through the cold weather this week.

It got me thinking about what to plant for the fall. I’ve already pulled up my cucumbers and tomatoes, and to be perfectly honest, I’m just not feeling the autumn garden. I’m very fortunate to have a large rooftop space to work with, but man, the vegetable garden this summer was more work than I wanted to put in.

I talked with my mom about my garden burnout. She mentioned that October is a great month for bulb planting! The bulbs can settle in and put down roots during the winter while I enjoy a nice break, and come spring, I can rediscover my love for the garden when the flowers start to bloom.

Most people consider tulips and daffodils, but I’m thinking about planting some native bulbs like trout lilies and wild hyacinths, in the spirit of rewilding my own little deck. Both plants thrive in partial shade, so if you have a space like that to grow your own, I think you should go for it!

Wild hyacinth (left) and yellow trout lilies (right) are both native bulb plants that you can plant this fall and enjoy their blooms in the spring.

Did a friend send you this email? I’d love to have you join us! I send an email each week full of rewilding inspo and community highlights, so that you can be rooted in the fact that we are real people making a real difference in this city.

sup yall

since open-sourcing and growing our team to five, we’ve been able to accelerate quite a bit. Today, to build on that momentum, we’re opening some more positions on the organizing team:

• Design Lead

• Partnerships

• Social Media Lead

• Events Lead

Our ambition is still the same —

If you’re interested in learning more or joining the team, you can reply to this email and we’ll shoot over some more info. 

The Mulch Team

Hello Mulchers! Andrea and Martina here, delivering some rewilding inspo to your inbox! Let’s get to it.

Community Spotlight

Thank you to everyone who was able to make it out to our Tea Under Trees event this weekend! It was such a blast getting to meet so many of you in person and make seed bombs together!

Seeds in clay that to make a seed bomb

Everyone getting creative!

Our seed bomb mascot for the day

We can’t wait to host more events like this and continue to support your rewilding efforts in your communities. ✨ We will continue to share events through this newsletter, so if this event made you think of a friend who would love to attend in the future, make sure to tell them to subscribe!

🤩 It’s Almost NYC Climate Week!

I look forward to this week in September every year. It’s full of energy and filled with opportunities to network, learn, and connect with folks working in the climate space from around the world. But, if I’m being honest, it’s also draining and exhausting. The city is packed, lots of streets are blocked, and its often hard to navigate the hundreds of things happening at the same time.

That’s why I created a mini-list of things to do for peace throughout the week, not just for myself, but for anyone who finds themselves seeking grounding and meaningful connection ☮️ 🍵 

1. Go for a nature walk with Generation Environment: Join Generation Environment as they take to the trails in Central Park! This is a great way to connect with other like-minded people, learn about NYC’s plant life, and let all the hustle and bustle of Climate Week settle in your mind. Friday, Sept 26, 8:30am-11:30am.

2. Sip some tea at Paquita Tea House in the West Village: Pop in any time to sink into the calming ambiance, sip some tea, and remember you’re part of a bigger picture. Every day, 9am-8pm.

3. Paint a terracotta pot with Kinka NYC: When everything is fast-paced and intense, it’s important to take some time for creativity and laughter. Let loose and connect with your creative side! Thursday, Sept 25, 7:00pm.

• Learn about Regenerative Landscapes with the Rockefeller Foundation and Regen House

• Go on a Soil and Ag community walk/run at Pumphouse Park

• Join the Biomimicry Institute to explore how nature offers solutions to our greatest challenges

• Deep dive into creating sustainable communities that go beyond buildings

• If you’re an early riser, head to Birding & Bagels Bonanza in Central Park!

• Step into PlanetHAUS’s visual experience of how sustainable living isn’t just possible, it’s irresistible

If you are hosting a Climate Week event, let us know on Discord!

Hello Mulchers! Andrea and Martina here, delivering some rewilding inspo to your inbox! Let’s get to it.

Community Spotlight

We’d love to introduce you to our friends at the Gowanus Canal Conservancy.

GCC seeks to uplift Gowanus into a successful example of how communities can support climate resilience and environmental justice. Their work includes:

💪 grassroots environmental volunteer projects
📖 educating students on climate and sustainability, and
📨 working with elected officials and the community to create, maintain, and support green infrastructure around the Gowanus Canal.

GCC has some great initiatives, volunteer opportunities, reports and local field guides, and other ways to get involved!

GCC has lots of volunteer opportunities this fall

Our own Mulcher, Reggie, is the Community Stewardship Manager at GCC! If any of y’all live in the area (or spend a lot of time there), make sure to check out the fall volunteer event interest form in the events section below.

Hi everyone! Andrea and Martina here with your weekly dose of Mulch madness! Let’s get to it.

Weekly Rewilding Inspo: 🌱 Miyawaki Method

A few years ago, I came across the Miyawaki Method, and wanted to share with y’all. Developed in the 1970’s by Japanese botanist Akira Miyawaki, this reforestation technique restores native ecosystems by planting a dense mix of local species close together. Inspired by Japan’s ancient groves, the method has spread worldwide, from creating pocket forests along highways in India, to cooling schoolyards in Paris, showing how even the smallest urban plots can be transformed into thriving green spaces. When exploring ways to combat noise in dense cities like NYC, this method is worth learning about. Bold question: are there any specific spots in the city where you think a Miyawaki forest could thrive?

These mini-forests in cities can lower temperatures and moderate noise pollution.
Credit: Peter Yeung

Community Spotlight 🪴

Mulch members living in Hell’s Kitchen, it’s time to unite! One of our members, Marina, informed us that she’s having some trouble getting anything to grow in her tree bed. 😭 If we have any other members living in the area, we encourage you to find each other and see if you can bring any life into Hell.

Also, shoutout to Maya for sharing the start of her endeavors with hydroponics!

Maya says she’s going to try growing broccoli rabe, arugula, grape tomatoes, and silver beet. Sounds like the makings of a fantastic fall/winter garden. If you have any tips for Maya, you know where to go to share them - yep, Discord!

Hi everyone! Andrea and Martina here with your weekly dose of Mulch madness! Let’s get to it.

Community Spotlight

First up, we want to give a shout out to Mulch member Vigi, who shared an awesome community mulching event with us on Discord! Nothing makes us happier than seeing members of our community take action. The trees thank you, Vigi, and so do we!

We love to see our community members taking care of the plants right outside their front door!

🌳 Counting on You 🌳

Did you know NYC Parks has an interactive tree map? You can find hundreds of thousands of individual trees all across the NYC Metro area, and record your own caregiving activities.

Not only that, 2025 is a tree census year in NYC. Every 10 years, New Yorkers work together to count the trees in all of the city parks, to help manage and maintain our urban forest. The Parks department provides all the necessary equipment and training to volunteers, so no experience is required. Check out our event section below to sign up!

Hi everyone! Andrea and Martina here! We just joined Mulch’s organizing team, and we’re stoked to be here. 👏 

We are thrilled to join you - a community of gardening enthusiasts, urban planners, and ecology nerds united in a simple mission: to repurpose NYC’s unused spaces to make it more resilient, nature-filled, and lighthearted. You’ll be receiving weekly updates from us about Mulch events, community wins, and rewilding inspiration. 🌳 

We’re keeping it short and sweet this week, with some big updates coming next week. For now, let’s dive in…

We grew our crew!

Say hi to Mulch’s organizing team:

Andrea Hi, I’m Andrea! I spent the past few years as a software engineer at a sustainability-focused startup, but these days I’m all about real-life magic — quite literally — helping my husband run his live show in the East Village. My background is a mix of journalism, video production, events, software development, and climate-minded living. Mulch feels like a natural extension of everything I love: community, creativity, and playful transformation. I’m thrilled to be here and can’t wait to get my hands dirty.

Maya Hey, I'm Maya! I dream of more tree cover and community gardens across all the boroughs. Through Mulch, I hope to plant seeds of connection, make some friends, and bring together all the different communities in our urban jungle. In my free time, I enjoy going line dancing, doodling my cats, and creating art with friends.

Martina I’m Martina! I’m a climate strategist and storyteller passionate about building greener, biodiverse, and more connected cities. I’ve worked across sectors to leverage nature-based solutions and climate adaptation in cities (and am a huge native plant nerd). In my free time I love hiking, swimming, tending to gardens, and yoga!

Ian I recently relocated (back) to New York from LA, where I was involved in various rewilding efforts- native plant nurseries, wild seed collection, and installing urban micro-forests. In a past life, I was a full-time environmental consultant, but these days I'm an enthusiastic volunteer (working in tv/film), keen to build community around plants and people (and bicycles, and food, and the list goes on...)

Vigi Hi! I’m Vigi, a community and events strategist passionate about rewilding cities and reconnecting neighbors through shared experiences. I’m finishing my Master’s in Data Analytics & Visualization, where I’ve explored how data and storytelling can support local, place-based movements. My background spans event production, marketing, and launching early-stage start-ups—from entertainment and blockchain to civic tech. With Mulch, I’m hoping to grow a vibrant ecosystem of events, partnerships, and people who believe that rewilding starts with community.

What we’ll be up to:

• Welcoming new members and matching folks to rewilding opportunities

• Coordinating pop-ups and in person events across neighborhoods

• Sharing what works (and what doesn’t) so we all get better, greener, faster

• Keeping the vibes light, neighborly, and silly 🤪
  

Where you’ll see us:

• At garden installs and street-tree bed tune-ups

• In your inbox with updates, read-worthy content, and invites

Mulch turned one this year, and I have an announcement 🥁

We're open-sourcing!

Over the next few weeks, I will be passing the torch to a team of awesome folks. The goal is simple:

Turn our current NYC community (1,500+ subscribers, 60%+ open rate) into a free, standalone club for citizen-led resilience.

Here's why we're making the change.

When I began this journey a year ago, my goal was to build a great business in resilience and rewilding. That's meant getting to:

• Sell plants on street-level (by walking around with a rolling cart)

• Sneak into a conference and secure a "community garden as an amenity" pilot

• Install raised garden beds in empty tree beds throughout the city

• Pack and send 1,000+ packets of native wildflower seed to folks in NYC

• Actually see these seeds ^ bloom!! (despite being told it was impossible)

• Get a tree permitted and planted in 20 days (vs 1-3yr estimate)

More than anything, it's meant getting to meet wonderful, wonderful people. Gardening enthusiasts, urban planners, ecology nerds — people amped to make the city more lighthearted, resilient, and nature-filled.

A year in, the thing that's most clear to me is that there isn't a great forum for all of us to come together, share learnings, and do cool stuff — like create mini-rooftop farms, throw up a living wall, or turn bare tree beds into wildflower gardens.

I think there should be, and I believe that Mulch can grow into that.

While there's probably some way to turn that into a good business, my overwhelming instinct now is that it'd be best run as a cooperative, open-source style project. So that's what we're going to do.

As for me, my goal hasn't changed. I still want to build a great business in resilience. I'm optimistic it's around the corner.

To Year Two 🍻