Join the NYC Urban Soils Institute at the Kingsland Wildflower Festival at 520 Kingsland Ave, Brooklyn, NY on Saturday, July 22nd from 4 to 8 pm! We will be tabling and testing soil, so bring soil from your home or garden and we'll test it for heavy metals content.
While you don’t have to register for USI’s free soil testing separately - it’s first come, first serve - you should still register for the Kingsland Wildflower Festival at the following link: 7th Annual Kingsland Wildflowers Festival Tickets, Sat, Jul 22, 2023 at 4:00 PM | Eventbrite.
Tickets are free!
About Kingsland Wildflowers Festival: This annual festival aims to bring awareness to Greenpoint’s, and the surrounding communities’, longstanding environmental burdens; the transition to a cleaner, healthier future; as well as the global climate crisis and the potential for local, community-based solutions. This fun summer event is free and family friendly.
Getting there:
This event is located on a green roof! Kingsland Wildflowers is located at 520 Kingsland Avenue, Brooklyn NY 11222. The entrance is located at the large steel gate at the dead end of the street (look for the building with railings around the roof).
Once through the gate walk to the door under the red staircase attached to the building (there will be signs pointing to Kingsland Wildflowers Greenroof).
Take the elevator to 4th floor to check in with NCA staff before going out to see both levels of public rooftops.
Access note: the 5th floor stop of the elevator doesn’t always work. The 4th floor roof has both elevator access and a ramp.
Free Soil Testing Instructions:
1. Gather a plastic bag with about a cup of soil from your yard or garden, surface to 4’’ depth works best. Please clearly identify the bag so you can find it. For sampling guidance, contact: info@urbansoils.org. Maximum 3 samples per person – please do not take soil from Governors Island.
2. Bring your sample to our drop-off station, at the Kingsland Wildflowers Greenroof.
3. We will test your sample for heavy metals content within 10 minutes and have it waiting for you at a pick-up table. The sample will come with a results label and a pamphlet describing best practices. Sample drop-off deadline: 7:30 pm
Why Test Soil?
Great question! Soils are one of our most important resources, but they can easily become contaminated as a result of legacy industrial activity in urban settings. Common soil contaminants tend to be heavy metals such as lead or cadmium, which can cause negative health effects to folks who work and play with soil.
Fortunately, remediating soil contaminated with heavy metals can be easy, inexpensive and doesn’t require professional services. The tricky part is identifying heavy metal contamination, so we’ll help you with that! Our state-of-the-art handheld pXRF instrument quickly screens soil samples for heavy metals content, and lets you know whether remediation is recommended. Once your soil is tested, Urban Soils Institute’s (USI) experienced environmental scientists will advise you on next steps.
See you there!
