• Saturday June 20 Work Party at 610 Gifford Community Forest Garden
• Artists Selected for 2026 Garden Art Signs Design and Installation
• Bike Depot Kit Popping Up at Barry Park
• 2026 New York Cooperative Summit – Saturday October 17th

Click to read more……..

The Alchemical Nursery Project is seeking local artists for 2026 to design one of 10 Garden Art Signs to be displayed as public art, and to help identify the plants for the users, at the 713 Marcellus St Depot in Syracuse, NY. Each artist will be provided a stipend of $150 for the production of one plant Garden Art Sign of 12″H x 18″W dimensions. (we’ve increased our stipend from $100 last year to $150 this year) Any media may be used as part of your original work, original art remains the property of the artist, and Alchemical Nursery retains rights to reproduce via photography and printing of each design for all fund raising and educational purposes to support our neighborhood organizing, greenspace stewardship, and mutual aid work. The Art Signs for garden display will be printed on Aluminum Sandwich Board for long-term durability.

To apply, complete the form at https://forms.gle/fYWod9zYmYWDY1zE6 , including submission of 2 examples of your work. A panel of volunteers from the garden will select the awardees based on local location awareness, description of your artwork style, submitted artwork samples, and consideration of your stated interest in this project.

Future considerations of Alchemical’s use of the Garden Art Sign designs include selling prints of the designs in which we will share profits with the artists.

Thanks for your interest! Contact us at info@alchemicalnursery.org with questions.

Examples of our 2025 artists’ work for the 610 Gifford St Community Garden, including – Margaret Voss – Highbush Cranberry | Heather Highfield – Elderberry | Rebecca Garofano – Rhubarb | Alana Joe – Peach | Jess McElhinney – Red Currant | Anthony Beckham – Sunchoke | Julia Smith – Strawberry | Cayetano Valenzuela – Black Currant | Charlie Sam – Red Raspberry

Saturday May 9th, 11am – 2 pm (Plant walk starting promptly at 12:30pm)
717 Otisco St, Syracuse NY, 13204

Super excited for Bitternut Homestead to host an Open House and Backyard Garden Tour & Foraging Walk on Saturday May 9th. You’ll experience and learn more about perennial polyculture gardening, wild foraging species, and Alchemical’s propagation activities. The Open House will be from 11am – 2 pm, and the 1-hour Tour & Walk will start promptly at 12:30pm.

This gathering is FREE; make a $5- $10 donation to the Alchemical Nursery if you are able. You can become a recurring Patreon donor of the $1 for Permaculture Campaign, make a one-time donation through Network For Good, or bring good ‘ol cash money.

Four Things to Know:

1. This event is happening in place of the Alchemical Nursery’s annual plant sale. Though we will still have plants available, just a limited number of them. We are gifting the plants we will have available this year to those who want/need them. If you feel so inclined, we would accept reciprocation, but not required. We will be posting a list of what we will have available closer to the event date.

2. We invite you to *optionally* bring a dish to share at our brunch table. We’ll make a little something from the backyard abundance, and have water and our homemade shrubs and syrups for drinks. Linger & socialize as you like :>)

3. This is an all weather event, unless an extreme forecast is posted and we choose to cancel. We will post cancellation on our social media pages, and via email and text message, make sure we have your contact info on hand. So dress for the weather, bring an umbrella if light rain is predicted.

4. You’ll also have a chance at our community table to learn more about our residents’ and members’ other initiatives including the Community Apothecary, the Bicycle Depot, and Permaculture Forest Garden education and practice opportunities, Singing Solutions, Syracuse Herbal Study Group, etc. Bring your materials to lay out too.

Find our Facebook Event page here.

This Friday April 23rd, 2026, from 5:30-7:00 pm at the Alchemical Nursery’s Bicycle Depot. Location at 713 Marcellus St, Syracuse, NY 13204. Come early at 5:00 pm if you’d like to help with litter pickup and management in our mini meadow on site!

The Bike Depot is having a meet-up to discuss the seasons plans, be on the same page, and work on some inventory tasks. All are invited and we hope to see you join us.

We’ll also be sharing about our pop-ups schedule, and how you can host one as a pop-up lead at one of our locations or at one of your own. We provide the tools and supplies, you provide the location and people! Anywhere in CNY.

Let us know your coming by RSVPing at https://www.facebook.com/events/929845116531440

We celebrate another year of the 610 Gifford St Community Forest Garden and the Rahma Edible Forest Garden at 3100 S. Salina St on Saturday April 18th.

Practice stewardship with us through refuse management, on-site organics management, propagation through division, pruning and cleaning perennials, and fellowship with others.

9:00 am – 11:00 am at 610 Gifford St

11:30 am – 1:30 am Rahma 3100 S. Salina St

RSVP here if you know your coming so we can be prepared, or just show up.

Learn more about becoming a regular land steward through joining the Alchemical Nursery Permaculture Collective.

The Alchemical Nursery Project‘s final volunteer work session of the season at the 713 Marcellus St Depot will be next Saturday October 18 at 11am-1pm . Join us for a garden work day at the Bike Depot, 713 Marcellus St, Syracuse, NY.

Tasks include:
-Clearing out the mugwort from the sides and rear of the building
-Sheet mulching
-Encouraging beneficial plants
-Creating better visibility of the building

What you should bring:
-Hand pruners
-Work gloves
-Hand trowel
-Long handled shovel
-Water

Let us know you’re coming and sign up at this form link.

The Alchemical Nursery Project is acting as the fiscal sponsor once again for the New York Cooperative Summit!!!

Cooperative Resilience: Cultivating a Statewide Movement for Economic Democracy

Saturday October 4th, 2025 – Albany, NY

The New York Cooperative Summit is a one-day event brings together New York State cooperative members, leaders, organizers, and allies to share practical tools and strategies for starting, sustaining, and scaling the co-op ecosystem across the state. In 2024 the Summit was held in Syracuse and attracted 100 attendees, and this year the event is moving to Albany and anticipating 150 people. 

Location

Empire Plaza Convention Center, Albany, NY.

Date & Time

Saturday Oct 4, 2025, from 8:00 am – 8:00pm

Registration

Tickets are offered on a sliding scale of $0 – $70 to ensure affordability.

Register for the Summit

Hotel Lodging

Hotel blocks are reserved for $139/night at two nearby hotels. The last day to book for the reduced rate is September 3rd .

Book a Hotel Room

Childcare is Available

Please enter your childcare needs during registration checkout 🙂

RESERVE CHILDCARE

Translation & Accessibility

Spanish interpretation will be offered during the event. Submit any other accessibilities during registration

MAKE A REQUEST

What will the workshop topics be?

Workshops will focus on how cooperatives can meet New Yorkers’ material needs, find professional technical assistance, and act together as a movement.

We’ve got a great list of speakers this year, including:

• A keynote conversation between longtime CEO Melissa Marquez from Genesee Co-op Federal Credit Union and Cooperation Buffalo board president India Walton from Rose Jade Consulting Co-op 
• Johan Matthews from the Cooperative Fund of the Northeast on local Albany area co-op organizing
• Anh-Thu Nguyen and Julian McKinley from the Democracy at Work Institute , on rapid response and the national movement
• Chris Fox from worker co-op Action OSH and Dylan Hatch from Cornell ILR on union / co-op collaboration
• Bathabile KS Mthombeni from Untangled Resolutions on nonviolent communication & conflict resolution
• Michael Heubusch from Cooperation Buffalo on meeting the moment
• Ghislain Guiebo from the The Working World , consultant Krys Cail , and Joe Marraffino from Cooperative Fund of the Northeast on co-op financing 
• Ethan Winn from the Obran cooperative on platform co-ops
• Emily Terrana from Rose Jade Consulting Co-op on decision-making
• The ICA Group on home care cooperatives
• New Economy Project on statewide policy projects
• The Northeast Transition Initiative on employee ownership as a small business exit plan

Who is organizing the Summit?

The 2025 event is being co-organized by a coalition of leaders from the Adirondack North Country Association , CNY Community Foundation , Cooperation Buffalo , Cooperative Federal Credit Union , Cooperative Fund of the Northeast , Democracy at Work Institute , Capital Bookkeeping Cooperative , ICA Group , NYC Network of Worker Cooperatives , The Worker Place , Westchester Cooperative Network , and others.

Have there been previous New York Cooperative Summits?

Forks. The Summit was held in 2024 in Syracuse , as well as in 2013 and 2012 .

Sponsorship

We’re seeking sponsors to continue the work . The organizing group, refreshed and larger with new participants, is preparing to hold another gathering in early October of 2025 in Albany. The 2025 Summit will share practical skills, deepen statewide alliances, support BIPOC- and immigrant-led efforts, and build power for a regenerative, democratic economy. There is no paid staff person for the Summit – all sponsorships go to site and food costs, honorariums for speakers, and keeping ticket prices affordable on a low- to no-cost sliding scale. Learn more about sponsorship levels here .

Many thanks to current sponsors!

$2,000 Level

$1,000 Level

$500 Level

$250 Level

Saturday, September 13th, 11 am-1 pm.

Join us for a garden work day at the Bike Depot.

Tasks include:
-Clearing out the mugwort
-Sheet mulching
-Encouraging beneficial plants
-Creating better visibility of the building

What you should bring:
-Hand pruners
-Work gloves
-Hand trowel
-Water

Let us know you’re coming and sign up at:

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScZjOJM7hBG6Nuydj6LuUZ43P8UJqjjhJQEzWvMaHxuTumS1A/viewform

FB Event at https://www.facebook.com/events/627379123493122

Join us once again for Friday Night at the Forest Garden on July 25th from 6-7:45 pm. A different way to spend your Friday evenings! Learn, steward, and grow together at Rahma Forest Garden. Please RSVP! https://forms.gle/A42yBNGHFPoH4a7w8

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We’ve added a second date for this Friday July 11, from 6-7:45 pm, same location of course! A different way to spend your Friday evenings! Learn, steward, and grow together at Rahma Forest Garden. Please RSVP! https://forms.gle/A42yBNGHFPoH4a7w8 – FB event for sharing at https://www.facebook.com/share/1CR4JDXdyB/

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Friday June 27, 6-8 pm

3100 S Salina St, Syracuse, NY, United States, New York 13205

NOTE for those who previously checked this out, we have changed the date back one day to Friday the 27th to accommodate a personal calendar conflict of the organizer.

The serviceberry trees at Rahma are the anchor of our food forest garden at the free health clinic, and they share their abundance with us each and every year. We have to give back our stewardship to ensure they stay healthy, happy, and productive.

We’ll clear away bindweed and cleavers, prune competing trees, and use permaculture design and polyculture principles to manage the ground cover and understory.

Meet at 6 pm for orientation, work from 6:15 – 7:45 pm, then harvest! Snacks provided.

Please RSVP! https://forms.gle/A42yBNGHFPoH4a7w8

Here’s a couple screenshots from our files gallery to give you a sneak peak at the garden art signs our artists submitted – stay tuned for more info and plans for the unveiling and celebration, when we hear from the artists about their inspiration and/or techniques, and see the signs live and in place at the 610 Gifford St Community Forest Garden. Thanks to the artists:

Margaret Voss – Highbush Cranberry
Heather Highfield – Elderberry
Rebecca Garofano – Rhubarb
Alana Joe – Peach
Jess McElhinney – Red Currant
Anthony Beckham – Sunchoke
Julia Smith – Strawberry
Cayetano Valenzuela – Black Currant
Charlie Sam – Red Raspberry

With funding from CNY Arts GRACE ’25, TNT Westside, and our Patreon members.