We need you to help us make real change through education and advocacy for a more sustainable and equitable future!
We continue to strengthen stewardship of public waterways and land while shifting policies to increase access to healthy, fresh food for more New Yorkers.
Growing or picking food in New York City's public land has been off-limits for almost a century for fear that a glut of foragers may destroy an ecosystem. In 2016, Swale launched as an experiential and co-educational edible landscape built on a barge that utilized marine common law to circumvent local public land laws. Swale was able to dock adjacent to public land and allow people to pick edible and medicinal perennial plants grown onboard for free.
Our organization continues to help steward NYC's first Foodway in Concrete Plant Park in the Bronx, now in its seventh year. The Foodway was initiated by Swale and a coalition of community groups. This is the first time NYC Parks has allowed foraging in a public park!
In 2025, with your help, Swale will launch our second, more permanent barge. We’ve located a barge in upstate New York, and have the summer to complete fundraising for a build-out in the fall.
At Swale, we believe that when treated as a commons, food production can be less polluting, and fresh food can be more accessible. Help us with these initiatives and with designing and building a permanent floating food forest to launch in the spring of 2026.
