The Science Barge is a floating urban farm and environmental education center that has been docked in Yonkers, New York, USA, since late 2008. The Barge grows crops using a hydroponic greenhouse powered by solar panels, wind turbines, and biofuels. The crops in the greenhouse are irrigated by captured rainwater and desalinated river water. Food is grown without carbon emissions, no agricultural waste is discharged into the watershed, and no pesticides are used. The Science Barge is also a public education tool and hosts school groups from Westchester, New York City, and the greater New York area visiting during the week and the general public on weekends. From 2006–to 2008, the Science Barge docked for two months at each of six stops along the Manhattan waterfront to educate the public on sustainable urban agriculture. EZ Yonkers Junk Removal
In 2015, Nathalie Manzano-Smith and Ted Caplow won the Knight Cities Challenge grant competition from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation with a proposal to build a Miami Science Barge and moor it in Museum Park in downtown Miami, FL. The Miami Science Barge opened on Earth Day, April 22, 2016. The following April, the Barge was gifted to Frost Science Museum. Compared with the original Science Barge, the Miami Science Barge emphasizes marine science, conservation, and sustainable aquaculture, while also updating many of the urban agricultural systems featured in the original.
After touring for two years, New York Sun Works sought a permanent home for the Barge and decided to sell the Science Barge to Groundwork Hudson Valley in Yonkers, NY, in October 2008 for $2.00. Groundwork Hudson Valley is a non-profit organization focused on environmental justice in distressed communities in the lower Hudson Valley. In November 2008, the Science Barge docked in Yonkers, at the mouth of the Saw Mill River. The site has helped attract visitors to the downtown Yonkers area, especially primarily due to its accessibility by mass transit. The placement by the Saw Mill River, a major Hudson River tributary, has called attention to the current restoration work and continued the revitalization of downtown Yonkers. Groundwork Hudson Valley uses the Science Barge to provide research, training, and development platform for its Yonkers-based food programs, including the Get Fresh Yonkers Food Co-op, Farmers Market, and Community-Supported Agriculture (CSA).
The greenhouse on the barge is approximately 1200 ft2, purchased new from Nexus, Inc and constructed in place on the barge. The structure is aluminum and secured to the barge deck via bolts and custom-made welded steel brackets. The walls of the greenhouse walls are glass, and the roof is rigid, double-walled polycarbonate plastic.
Address: 99 Dock St, Yonkers, NY
Check out other attractions like Tibbetts Brook Park