Garden Shed Journey
We are bringing new life to St Nicholas Miracle Garden in Harlem with a shed rooftop pollinator garden and a powerful mural project. The initiative directly supports the Uptown & Boogie Healthy Project's mission to improve green space, climate resilience, and community pride in Harlem and the Bronx.
We're working with a team of volunteers, architects Jixuan "Leslie" Li and Peggy Xiao, and civic engineer advisor Jude Vallon, who specializes in urban green infrastructure and pollinator habitats. The rooftop will feature native plants like sunflowers, purple coneflowers, and other pollinator-friendly species that support butterflies, bees, and birds. By cooling the area, reducing stormwater runoff, and offering a habitat for pollinators, this project fights the heat island effect and improves environmental health for everyone in the garden.
Community Benefit
Our shed rooftop garden and mural project directly benefits the community by creating a healthier, cooler, and more vibrant space in the heart of Harlem. We increase access to green space and bring people together through hands-on workshops, volunteer opportunities, and public art.
We will plant native species like sunflowers, purple coneflowers, and milkweed. We support local pollinators—bees, butterflies, and birds—that help keep our neighborhood ecosystem thriving. The green roof helps cool the area, reduces flooding from stormwater, and improves air quality, which makes the garden more comfortable and safe for families, children, and volunteers.
This year, college garden interns joined our team for the first time to actively support the garden. They led efforts to manage the greenhouse, helped grow seedlings, and contributed to painting a new mural alongside our existing one. Through this collaboration, we teach sustainability, strengthen community relationships, and show what we can build together when everyone plays a role.
Garden Shed Installed in 2022
Project Contributors
Shed Mural Project
Shed Rooftop Garden
We seek to build a Shed Rooftop Garden to extend the Audubon Mural Project with Baltimore Oriole birds, purple coneflower, and sunflowers, bringing the concept of "life imitating art" to reality. The rooftop garden will reflect the themes depicted in the mural, transforming painted imagery into a living, growing installation. The project will serve as a visual and educational bridge between creativity and sustainability, inviting the community to engage with art and nature in a dynamic, hands-on way.
Inspiration: https://www.greenroofs.com/projects/ancaya-green-roof-garden-shed/
Spring 2026
Rooftop Render
In collaboration with:
Roofer/Mentor: Zoltan Kocis
Architecture Intern: Arli Hasa
Construction Interns: Walston Lucien Jr and David Gonzales
This rooftop garden transforms underutilized rooftop space into a productive growing area, keeping planted vegetation off the main ground-level garden while maximizing the overall growing capacity of the property. By elevating the garden above ground, the design reduces foot-traffic interference, improves air circulation around plants, and makes efficient use of vertical space.
Presentation
Build Shed Rooftop Garden
Rendering:
Architecture Intern: Arli Hasa
The system uses a layered construction approach: a rubber waterproof membrane at the base, a structural wooden framework, modular growing trays, a bio-friendly retention cloth, and a topsoil growing medium. The exterior of the structure can be decorated — as shown in the design renderings featuring a painted bird-and-flower mural — to blend aesthetically into the surrounding environment.
Spring 2026
Rooftop Crown
In collaboration with:
Construction Interns: Walston Lucien Jr and David Gonzales
A wooden crown was added to the frame to hide the turf tiles for aesthetics.
A Special Thank You to Coast of Maine
In collaboration with: Coast of Maine Organic Products
When we ran short on soil mid-build — with only 2" of growing medium in place — Coast of Maine stepped up with a generous donation of additional soil bags that brought our rooftop to the full 4" depth we needed.
We are grateful for partners who show up when it counts — their support directly strengthens our mission to build climate-resilient, community-centered green spaces in Upper Manhattan and the Bronx. 🌱 Learn more at coastofmaine.com
Rooftop Garden Planted
Phase 2 begins: planting the living mural species, drone-monitored ecosystem, beekeeping partnership, bug house & bird feeders installed, and AI plant-health monitoring launched.
AI-Powered Plant Inspector
Replicate at Partner Gardens
Community Supported Projects
Your support is essential for the success of this initiative. If financial contributions are not possible, we welcome donations of time, skills, equipment, or supplies to help complete these projects. Whether through direct contributions or volunteer efforts, your involvement will significantly impact and help us create a more sustainable and productive greenhouse. Join us in making this vision a reality and promoting a greener future for our community!