Inspiring Environmental Responsibility and Civic Pride at NYCHA

Grain was engaged by The New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) to build awareness, develop programming, and engage residents around the environmental investments underway on its campuses; with 2,500 acres of city land and a large resident population, NYCHA has the potential to be a key player in New York City’s “green” agenda.

NYCHA’s sustainability programming addresses issues including water conservation, bulk waste disposal, and mattress and box spring recycling. Our task was to help communicate the positive impact of these initiatives, and to celebrate the NYCHA community’s environmental leadership. To accomplish this, we created a suite of interactive educational materials that could be used across all developments—we worked over four campuses in Queens, Brooklyn, and the Bronx— . We hosted engagement events including focus groups, intergenerational workshops, art competitions, and family-friendly planting days. Working with residents, we identified a series of location-specific “green” amenities – this led to at least one community garden, which we inaugurated with a butterfly release party.