Gowanus Canal Conservancy (GCC)

About us

The 1.8 mile long Gowanus Canal in Brooklyn, New York was created in the mid-late 1800s on the site of a former saltmarsh and creek and has seen its fair share of environmental issues. For years, it has captured raw sewage waste from adjacent residential neighborhoods, industrial waste products from the businesses located along its banks, and polluted surface run off. The Gowanus Canal Conservancy is an independent, Brooklyn-based environmental 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that was founded in 2006 to advocate for the restoration and green development of the Gowanus Canal to the benefit of New York CIty residents.

Our mission is to be a trusted resource to guide the vision and transformation of the Gowanus Canal and surrounding environments into a vital community asset and destination. This is accomplished through maximizing public access to and improving the ecological health of the Canal, while respecting the history and character of the surrounding neighborhoods. With these goals in mind, our work focuses on three areas:

1) Developing publicly accessible green space around the Gowanus Canal
2) Creating volunteer events that incorporate direct-action stewardship projects and
3) Providing community education about the Gowanus Canal.

In developing public open space, the Gowanus Canal Conservancy is focused particularly on implementing green-infrastructure projects, such as rain gardens and green streets, that will also reduce the volume and frequency of Combined Sewer Overflows into the Gowanus Canal every year. Gowanus Canal

Conservancy Projects:
• 6th Street Green Corridor: Implementing the construction of six street-side bioswales. The 6th Street Green Corridor is one of our local attempts to reduce the amount of Combined Sewer Overflow events that happen in the Gowanus Canal when it rains.
• Clean & Green Volunteer Program: The Gowanus Canal Conservancy Clean and Green Program is a volunteer-based program that meets on Saturdays or Sundays from March to November to clean and green the banks of the Gowanus Canal. For a listing of opportunities to get involved, please visit our website or email us: volunteer@gowanuscanalconservancy.org
• Composting Gowanus: Composting Gowanus is our program aimed at reducing the amount of organic wastes that our community ships to faraway landfills. Instead, we are working to convert food scraps, yard waste and other organic wastes into rich and biologically active Humus for use in amending the urban soils around the Canal. We utilize the compost to enrich public parks, street trees, community gardens and urban farms.

Urban Ecology Lecture Series: The Conservancy hosts a monthly lecture series in which scientific experts working on urban ecological issues speak about projects and research relevant to the restoration of the Gowanus Canal and other degraded urban environments.

Board Leadership:
Andrew Simons serves as Board Chair
John Muir serves as Board Vice-Chair
Richard Napoli serves as Board Treasurer
Ben Jones serves as Board Secretary

Staff:
Hans Hesselein is the Director of Special Projects

For other net participants we can offer an expert guidance through trained staff, give an expert opinion, procure expert information and establish new contacts in the field of our work.