Bernadette Cozart

Bernadette Cozart (May 17, 1949 – July 27, 2009) was an American professional gardener, botanist, and urban gardening advocate. She worked for a time with the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation.

Biography In 1989, Cozart founded the Greening of Harlem Coalition to help residents regenerate and take responsibility for their own neighborhoods, transform rundown vacant lots in Harlem and other neighborhoods in New York City into flower gardens and to restore existing green spaces. Cozart formed alliances with many neighborhood organizations to help make these community gardens a reality. One major partner in the movement towards green spaces and the renewal of playgrounds in Harlem was Barbara Barlow, a surgeon at Harlem Hospital who worked with Cozart to create positive green spaces in the community. Much of Cozart's focus was on the establishment of gardens at New York City schools. The gardens were constructed at several public schools. Among the examples of gardens designed by Cozart and the Greening of Harlem Coalition was a playground with garden boxes at P.S. 197 and a Japanese style garden with a pagoda at P.S. 134.

Cozart moved from Harlem to Allentown, Pennsylvania, in 2002, where she became president of the Allentown Garden Club. Under her guidance, the club launched the Allentown Beautification Program in 2006, which aimed to beautify street intersections in Allentown using native plants and flowers.