The Pioneer Works Garden features a series of spring ephemerals, a burgeoning stand of fruit-bearing trees, annual and perennial vegetables, and many medicinal and culinary herbs. The edges and low-lying areas of the landscape have been cultivated as a salt barrier and sponge, acknowledging the garden’s proximity to the New York Harbor as well as imminent sea-level rise—during Hurricane Sandy in 2012, the garden was inundated with over five feet of water. The space is also home to site-specific plant-based installations, as well as a ceramics studio and a recording studio that hosts a rotating music residency.

Pioneer Works is situated on the ancestral and unceded lands of the Lenape, Canarsee, and Munsee Peoples. We honor the Indigenous stewards of Mannahatta; of the past, present, and future.

Pioneer Works is committed to helping to mitigate climate change by modifying our behaviors and working to reduce our carbon footprint. We have eliminated single-use plastics in partnership with Oceanic Global, and participate in the NYC Department of Sanitation Curbside Compost Program, which enabled us to divert 12 tons of organic waste from landfills in 2022.

In 2023 our garden became a certified National Wildlife Habitat, providing food and shelter for over 250 species of native and introduced plants, birds and insects that contribute to the biodiversity of Red Hook. This year we’re also piloting new science, arts and ecology programs for students that provide space for learning about the unique ecosystems in our neighborhood.

We are excited to continue making strides towards understanding and reducing our climate impacts, and encouraging our visitors and collaborators to do the same. We’re also thrilled to join Galleries Commit and the Gallery Climate Coalition, to contribute to the climate justice movement in NYC and beyond.

As part of this commitment, we crafted the following Climate Action Plan based on Pioneer Works's carbon footprint and operations in 2022.