Picture a wall made from thin steel frames taking up a large section of Union Square Park and forming almost a perfect circle. That is what is called an urban garden. The wall was full of plants in black colored potato sac-like holders and all of them were there to show how to garden organically in an urban world, and to teach the public about growing organically and its benefits.
The rain that morning was as if Mother Nature herself did not want anyone at the festival learning about how to plant organically, when ironically the point of the festival was to teach people to understand the environment better and how to do very little things to help it. The weather was raging with cold rain and wind, but despite it all the show had to go on.
Anyone who arrived early could see that the weather scared most people inside buildings or underneath tarps. But it did not jar the workers from setting up their sections at the event. They bared the wet cold and were just happy to be a part of it. Even the plants seemed happy because they were big and drooping out of the black sacs from the fresh rain.
The Earth Day event, NYC Grows, was sponsored by he NYRP (New York Restoration Project) founded by Bette Midler, the National Gardening Association and the New York City Department of Park and Recreation. It is now in its fifth year.