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Projectpetals

@projectpetals

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🌱 Cultivating environmental equity, climate resilience & justice
🌱 Youth leadership•Green spaces•Food Security•Community advocacy
🌱@UNEP accredited

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Meet the incredible community leaders spearheading the conversation on Saturday, October 3 for Environmental Justice, Heat, Work, and Us in Queens:

- Candace Prince-Modeste, the youngest person ever elected to lead the NAACP Jamaica Branch. @jamaicaqnsnaacp
- Clarisa James, co-founder of DIVAS for Social Justice, growing young leaders across Southeast Queens. @divasforsocialjustice
- Malikka D. Karteron, President and CEO of Global25, carrying community solutions from Queens to the United Nations. @global25_mdk
- Sonia Ferraro, the Queens nurse who turned an overlooked lot into Paradise Community Garden. @paradisecommunitygarden

Four outstanding leaders, rooted in this borough, doing the work every single day. Come hear them talk honestly about how extreme heat, flooding, and climate change are reshaping daily life in our neighborhoods, and what we do about it together.

🗓️Saturday, October 3 · 3:30 to 4:30 PM
📍Black Box Theatre, @jamaicaartscenter for Arts & Learning
161-04 Jamaica Avenue, Jamaica, NY

Free and open to all.

#EnvironmentalJustice #Queens #ClimateweekNYC #ProjectPetals #PulitzerCenter by @projectpetals

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15 days ago

After a summer of stories, campaigns, and conversations, we’re bringing Environmental Justice, Heat, Work, and Us home to Queens for a community panel discussion and public showcase. Join us on Saturday, October 3.

All season, we’ve been listening to the people who feel climate change first. Now we’re sitting down together: community leaders, advocates, and residents to talk honestly about how extreme heat, flooding, and a changing climate are reshaping daily life in New York City’s communities. And to talk about what we do next.

We’re honored to be joined by our panel:

- Candace Prince-Modeste, President, NAACP Jamaica Branch
- Clarisa James, Co-Founder, Divas for Social Justice
- Malikka D. Karteron, President, Global25
-Sonia Ferraro, Founder, Paradise Community Garden

The details:
Saturday, October 3, 2026
3:30 to 4:30 PM
Black Box Theatre, Jamaica Center for Arts & Learning
161-04 Jamaica Avenue, Jamaica, NY

Refreshments will be served, free and open to all. This is our Pulitzer Center–funded work, and it belongs to the community. Come be part of the conversation.

RSVP at: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/2002155607318?aff=oddtdtcreator

Questions? Email info@projectpetals.org.

#projectpetals #queens #climate #newyork by @projectpetals

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18 days ago

As part of our initiative: “Environmental Justice, Heat, Work, and Us”, the real stories of New Yorkers who lived through this summer’s extreme heat are now showing on LinkNYC screens across the city, right in the middle of Climate Week.

And this week, Times Square Chronicles featured the campaign, capturing exactly what we set out to do. As they put it, “instead of speaking about communities, we hand them the microphone, and then we put that microphone on a New York City sidewalk.”

These are some of the voices of our community: Harini, Sonia, Makeda, Tiffany, and Cesar. A Queens resident who got so sick from the heat she couldn’t walk, a nurse watching her bills climb just to stay cool, a worker whose commute through the subway became unbearable, and someone with no air conditioning, losing sleep and fighting headaches through the worst of it.

For years, the people carrying the heaviest weight of extreme heat have been left out of the conversations that decide our climate future. This week, in one of the most visible places in the world, our campaign is impossible to ignore.

You can find our campaign now through September 27:
383 7th Ave, Manhattan
56 Lafayette Ave, Brooklyn
160-12 Jamaica Ave, Queens

Read the full feature in Times Square Chronicles at the link in our bio. And if you spot our campaign, stop, read a story, and tag us. Let’s make sure these voices carry far beyond one week.

#climateweeknyc #projectpetals #climateweek by @projectpetals

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22 days ago

@climateweeknyc is here, and our founder Alicia White has a message.

In a new op-ed for @qnsgram , “Climate Week is coming to New York. It’s time to invest with communities, not just in them,” Alicia makes a case that sits at the heart of everything we do at Project Petals.

Every September, the climate world descends on New York for a week of big panels and big promises. Those conversations matter a great deal, However, the people living closest to climate change are usually the last ones asked what they need.

Project Petals has spent more than a decade working alongside residents in Queens and across NYC, and it’s taught us something simple. Communities are full of ideas for their own neighborhoods. What they’re too often denied is the resources and the seat at the table to act on them.

So the op-ed comes down to one idea we live by: stop asking what we can do for communities and start asking what we can build with them.

Read Alicia’s full op-ed at the link in our bio.
#climateweeknyc by @projectpetals

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25 days ago

We are proud to announce that Project Petals is a Pulitzer Center 2026 U.S. Civil Society Grant awardee for a community storytelling and journalism initiative we’re calling Environmental Justice, Heat, Work, and Us.
The initiative will focus on Queens and NYC communities where residents, communities and outdoor workers often face disproportionate exposure to extreme heat and other climate-related risks. Environmental Justice, Heat, Work, and Us, paired with Pulitzer Center-supported journalism, is designed to use journalism and storytelling to spread awareness and promote environmental advocacy by creating a platform for sharing lived experiences.
Did you know there is still no federal protection for workers from dangerous heat? This summer and fall, we’re bringing residents, communities, workers, journalists, and local leaders together for community forums and storytelling workshops that connect trusted journalistic reporting to real, lived experience and turn those stories into action.
Here’s exactly how you can be part of it: We’re collecting stories about living and working through extreme heat. If that’s your experience, or your family’s, we want to hear it. Reach out to us via DM or email us at info@projectpetals.org to get involved. Thank you to the Pulitzer Center @pulitzercenter for helping us drive our mission forward, supporting our work and believing in our community, and thank you to QNS for covering our story
Read the full story here: https://qns.com/2026/08/project-petals-pulitzer-center-grant-environmental-justice/ @qnsgram
#EnvironmentalJustice #ClimateJustice #ExtremeHeat #Leadership #Queens pulitzercenter by @projectpetals

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2 months ago

This Juneteenth, join Project Petals at Paradise Community Garden for a day of community care, environmental stewardship, and collective action. Together, we'll spend the day gardening, beautifying shared green spaces, and investing in a healthier future for our neighborhood.

For us, Juneteenth is an opportunity to honor the legacy of resilience, community, and self-determination by creating spaces that nourish people, strengthen connections, and improve environmental outcomes for generations to come.

Whether you're a longtime volunteer or joining us for the first time, we would love to have you with us.

📍 Paradise Community Garden
107-29 Inwood Street, Jamaica, NY 11435

📅 June 19, 2026
🕧 12:30 PM – 4:30 PM

Send us a message to volunteer.

#Juneteenth #ProjectPetals #CommunityGarden #ClimateJustice #EnvironmentalJustice #VolunteerNYC #QueensNY #CommunityCare #UrbanGreening #Juneteenth2026 by @projectpetals

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4 months ago

Earth Day with Project Petals at Paradise Community Garden- 🪏 🌱 Link in bio

Join us for Earth Day with Project Petals at Paradise Community Garden as we come together to care for and prepare our garden for the spring and summer growing season. Volunteers will help with a variety of hands-on projects, including planting fruit trees such as plum, pear, and pomegranate trees, digging up and relocating grape vines, turning soil, and planting seeds. Activities will include general garden clean-up and weeding.
We’ll also be working on several garden improvement projects, such as painting and repairing the pergola, reinforcing and repairing trellises, organizing the shed, painting shade structures, and painting tables and benches that are still in good condition.
This is a great opportunity to give back, support community green space, and help us prepare for the upcoming growing season. Volunteers of all skill levels are welcome. There’s something for everyone of all ages to do, and no experience is necessary.
Come spend the day outdoors, meet volunteers, and make a positive impact in the community while celebrating Earth Day with Project Petals at Paradise Community Garden. #earthday #queens #volunteer #nyc by @projectpetals

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6 months ago

🌱We’re in @apnews, @cbsnews, and @newsday!
Our founder, Alicia White, spoke with Fernanda Figueroa at the Associated Press about the urgent link between extreme heat, redlining, and environmental injustice — and how Project Petals is creating real change.
🌳 Did you know?“Green spaces are key to combating record heat in marginalized communities. Still, many predominantly Black and Latino neighborhoods don’t have green spaces within five miles.”
That’s why we’re building them.🌱 From heat relief to healthy food, to training the next generation of environmental leaders, we’re transforming access — one green space at a time.
We’re proud to have our work recognized. And we’re just getting started. 💪🏽✨ https://apnews.com/article/extreme-heat-climate-disparities-race-ethnicity-6507e130a92016c943a3b411e8731b38
#ProjectPetals #EnvironmentalJustice #HeatEquity #ClimateAction #AliciaWhite #UrbanGreening #ClimateEquity #heatisland by @projectpetals

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a year ago

Earth Day at Paradise Community Garden was a huge success!
A heartfelt thank you to our amazing volunteers from @guayaki Yerba Matcha and @1824 for lending a hand and helping us improve Paradise Community Garden all day long.
We’re also incredibly grateful to our sponsor, @greenmtnenergy, and to @carlos.keyes for educating our volunteers and community about the power of green energy.
Thank you to our team @weareupspring for coming to volunteer and supporting our work.
Together, we’re growing a greener future! #earthday #volunteer #nyc #greenmountainenergy #guayaki #community #garden taken in Queens, New York by @projectpetals

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a year ago

Project Petals joins @bobmarley Earth Uprising!We are hosting an Earth Day event at Paradise Community Garden in Jamaica, Queens and welcome Bob Marley fans to volunteer with us and celebrate his legacy. This month Marley fans around the country are joining #EarthDay clean-ups to honor his legacy. We only have one Earth, let’s take care of it! Click the link for more details. #EarthDay #ProjectPetals #GreenSpaces #bobmarley by @projectpetals

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a year ago

🌍🌱 Earth Day Volunteer Event with Project Petals 🌱🌍
Join us this Earth Day — Tuesday, April 22, 2025 at Paradise Community Garden
📍 107-29 Inwood St, Jamaica, NY 11435
🕧 Starting at 12:30 PM EST
We’re calling all Petal Pushers to come out and show some love to a vital green space in the heart of Jamaica, Queens 💚 After a recent storm, the garden needs some serious TLC — and we need YOU!
🌿 Help us get ready for the strawberry harvest and pitch in on:
✨ Gardening
✨ Composting
✨ Planting
✨ Painting
✨ Clean-up
✨ Storm damage repairs
🔧 Skilled volunteers: We’ve got special projects for you too — help repair the greenhouse & benches or assist with installing a new irrigation system!
💌 For more info, contact: info@projectpetals.com
🙏 Can’t make it? Please consider donating to keep our work growing!
#EarthDay2025 #VolunteerDay #ProjectPetals #CommunityGarden #QueensNY #UrbanGardening #GreenSpacesMatter #GiveBack #SustainableFuture #StrawberrySeason taken in Queens, New York by @projectpetals

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a year ago

We are excited to see the completion of the Paradise Greenhouse in Queens with the help of Boy Scouts Troop 177. We look forward to witnessing all the benefits it will bring to the greater community and in the future.

Access to green spaces is crucial in urban communities, which is why we are happy to announce that we have extended our resources to provide Paradise Community Garden with a greenhouse. We are excited for the Paradise Greenhouse to be a yearlong resource for the community, providing access to food, educational classes, community drives, and community strengthening. Join us in celebrating this milestone for Paradise Community Garden. 🌱

#communitygarden #queens # NY #Sustainability #Environment #projectpetals #community #gma #gma3 taken in It's In Queens by @projectpetals

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2 years ago