The Greenbelt Native Plant Center (GNPC), a facility of the New York City Department of Parks & Recreation, is a 13–acre greenhouse, nursery, and seed bank complex located on Staten Island, NY.

GNPC Programs Photo Collage

Programs

In support of our mission, we maintain on average a stock of over 300,000 local trees, shrubs, vines, forbs, grasses, and ferns. Our facility currently has 17,000 square feet of benchtop production space in our six greenhouses and four acres of irrigated containerized nursery. We have twenty Founder Seed plots under cultivation and a temperature and humidity-controlled seed bank.

Greenbelt Native Plant Center has several program areas:

Our seeds and plants are from local genetic source material that is best adapted to our conditions to ensure long-term sustainability. We use seed collecting techniques that capture the maximum genetic diversity of each plant population. This diversity is reflected in our stock, which will typically exhibit a range of phenotypic variation.

Recognizing the need for locally-sourced bulk seed for land restoration and reclamation projects, we have recently begun our Founder Seed Program, which will ultimately provide products from NYC local genetic sources. Seed quantities to meet large-scale needs will take 3 to 5 years to develop. For small projects, we invite you to discuss custom seed mixes with us.

Our Seed Bank, which meets international seed banking standards for short to mid–term storage, is available to provide other local public, non–governmental, and community organizations with proper seed storage from their local populations. We currently have over 600 local species banked.