Brooklyn Botanic Garden partnered with the Leon Levy Foundation to present a forum on urban water management, with a focus on the intersection of environmental solutions and community engagement.
A panel discussion took place with thought leaders and practitioners working on urban water management, including Bjarke Ingels Group’s Lower Manhattan Coastal Resiliency Project, the Center for Coastal Resilience and Urban eXcellence, El Puente’s Greenlight District initiative, and Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates’ comprehensive Water Conservation Project at Brooklyn Botanic Garden.
In September 2016, BBG opened the Shelby White and Leon Levy Water Garden, a key component in an innovative water conservation project that models a unique combination of technology to conserve 21 million gallons of freshwater annually and demonstrates the integral relationships between water, plants, wildlife, and people. This forum amplifies the critically important role cultural institutions can play as community anchors, cultivating a more environmentally literate community and modeling sustainable practices.
This invitation-only event offered an opportunity to connect with policy makers, environmental educators, foundations, and community organizations, as well as leaders of major NYC cultural institutions. The discussion was focused on opportunities for and challenges of communicating sustainability issues, and strengthen networks across sectors.
