Foraging the Future– A ferry talk and tour on Food, Land & This City

Join us for a Ferry tour with plant stewards and urban ecologists Journei Bimwala, Candace Thompson and Liz Paredes in conversation with journalist Yessenia Funes.

This tour begins at Stuy Cove Park in East Manhattan and travels on the water to Soundview, The Bronx.

Join us at Stuy Cove park for a pollinator count workshop and little tour. From there we'll jump on the ferry together and be joined in conversation by journalist Yessenia Funesalong the water up to The Bronx, where we'll forage along Classon park and end with a botanical tea party.

Stuy Cove Park

Stuy Cove Park was established in 2002 as the first all native plant park in NYC. Over the course of 20 years this lower Manhattan landscape, built atop a capped and remediated brownfield, evolved into a wildlife waystation and community food forest, but was recently razed and rebuilt as part of city-wide efforts to manage human induced sea level rise. Now newly replanted in flood tolerant native species, this burgeoning greenspace is a haven for wildlife, and seeks to connect urbanites to our ecosystem through food, craft, stewardship and storytelling. The park is tended and programmed by Candace Thompson (also of @the_c_u_r_b) and Liz Paredes on behalf of the just transition nonprofit Solar 1. For more info visit solar1.org/stuycovepark

Liz Paredes

Liz is a land steward and community educator. Liz/they spent 15 years in the hospitality industry, before having an epiphany that changed their views of the world and how they wanted to navigate through it going forward. From that moment on every aspect of their life began to align with reconnecting their roots to the land. While studying Food Studies, they were led by an experience in growing food from seed to harvest aeroponically. It was what catalyzed their passion and desire to share with their community this urge to reconnect to the land and attain the right to food sovereignty. Since that experience Liz has and hopes to continue to live a life in reciprocity with the land and community always.

Candace Thompson

Candace Thompson (all pronouns accepted) is a (human) land steward and media maker who collaborates with soil, plants, microbes, fungi, animals, food, land, computers and other human beings in the search for mutualism amidst the ongoing climate crisis Their project, The Collaborative Urban Resilience Banquet (C.U.R.B.) uses citizen science, non-human storytelling and foraged community meals to imagine a future where the streets are 'clean enough to eat off of'. They also manage Solar 1's Stuy Cove Park, a newly redesigned public greenspace that uses systems thinking to explore the intersecting issues of urban ecology and human quality of life.

Journei Bimwala

Journei Bimwala is a homeschooling mother of three, clinical herbalist, foraging practitioner, certified health coach, transformational coach, and educator based in New York. She passionately connects people to nature, serving as the Community Coordinator for the New York Mycological Society and Resident Artist at the Bronx River Alliance. Through her diverse expertise and dedication, she empowers others to embrace holistic wellness and environmental stewardship, fostering a deeper connection between humanity and the natural world.

Holes in the Wall Collective

Holes in the Wall Collective takes on the big social challenges with joy, creativity and action by directly supporting and connecting people already doing the work.

They've been reimagining how to engage with our city and world for the last10 years.

This is part of their large initiative Imagined Futures, supporting Climate work happening right now in NYC to support a joyous and sustainable future.

More info HERE.

Important info

Participants will be walking for 10-20 minutes as part of the walk.
Please contact us with any accessibility concerns.

Participants are responsible for their own NYC Ferry ticket and late-comers will not be accomodated. Tickets are first come first served and there is no reserved seating. To ensure seating, please arrive 15 minutes before the departure of the Ferry.

Host or Publisher Holes in the Wall Collective