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#Save Our Compost 2020

12/18/2020

Take Action to Protect Our Queensbridge Compost Site -
Roosevelt Island depends upon this Big Reuse Site for composting and give backs! They have been so generous with us since 2015. The information below is all from BigReuse.org and the #saveourcompost coalition posts. The slides were created by NRDC.org.

Please sign the petitions

Sign the Save Composting in NYC petition.
Sign the Composting is Essential to NYC petition.

You may also want to write a short written testimony before Monday, Dec. 20th.

NYC Parks plans to replace our Queensbridge Compost Processing Site on December 31, 2020 with a parking lot. Parks Commissioner Mitchell Silver and Mayor Bill de Blasio both have the power to put a stop to this. Here are some actions you can take to demand that NYC Parks renew our lease.

Friday, December 18 at 11 am: City Council is holding virtual oversight hearing on Community Composting hosted by The Committee on Parks and Recreation and the Committee on Sanitation. We need supporters.
- Register to testify here. Written testimony may be submitted up to 72 hours after the hearing.
- Read "How to Testify in Support of Composting in New York City," written by our friends at NRDC for tips on submitting a testimony.
- After you've submitted a testimony, we encourage you to send it along to Mayor Bill de Blasio and Parks Commissioner Mitchell Silver to let them know why saving this composting site is urgent!
- If you are interested in viewing the hearing, but do not wish to testify live, the hearing can be viewed here.

#saveourcompost

Composting is an environmental justice issue too. When food waste is not composted, it is often sent to incinerators located primarily in low-income communities and communities of color and burned with trash and fossil fuels. This releases particulates and toxic chemicals into local communities.

Finally, sustainably disposing of organics is critical to achieving New York City’s ambitious climate and zero waste goals. Dumping food waste into landfills or incinerators instead of composting them adds to air pollution, accelerates the climate crisis, and will mean that the people who provide these critical composting services will lose their jobs.

#saveourcompost

Fall into Winter 2020: Enjoy the Roses Blooming

12/17/2020

December Eagle Scout Project: Homes for Native Bees

12/6/2020

On a bright, cold Sunday in early December, Jack Burkhalter and Julia Ferguson met with Brendan Hines to learn more about his Eagle Scout project. He is working to teach other scouts how to make and donate houses for our native wood nesting bees who are threatened with habitat loss.

Brendan approached us last summer and has steadily advanced on this project since then. He has a Scout Master teaching him wood working skills. Jack Burkhalter has advised his research on the pollinator and pollinator habitat details and importance of these friendly pollinators. Brendan is an avid researcher.

Brendan's project goals are:

Lead others in service. This is the most important part of any Eagle Project.
Make 15 long lasting bee boxes with semi-permanent biodegradable wood inserts (these inserts are what the bees will actually lay their eggs in), and place 7 of them appropriately in the gardens and on Roosevelt Island with other organizations sites.

If you would be interested in hosting one of these in your garden, please let us know.

Also if you would like to support Brendan's costs for materials which may run up into the range of $750.00. Please contact him at brendancatcher@gmail.com or at dlrandlett@yahoo.com. He has a fundraising video and a paypal address that he can send you and he has already raised more than half his needed amount!

To learn more check out Xerces Society Page on Nesting Resources or Bring Back the Pollinators: 5 Ways to Increase Habitat for Native Bees

The image of one of these pollinators below is from the Xerces article. Raspberry Canes are great for these guys.
Plants with pithy stems can be excavated by small carpenter bees and other cavity-nesters.
Photo: Nancy Lee Adamson.

November Saturday for Compost and Community

11/20/2020

"I have not seen a day like this all season. Good learning day, wonderful weather and a steady stream of of members busy in their gardens and physically spaced with masks." Neal Weissman wrote to the Board.

It did everyone's heart good to stay apart and yet also work together for the Compost Committee!

We saw a few folks we haven't seen all season since everyone is being super careful. The Compost Committee carefully took in and weighed 1845 pounds of organic materials: leaves, and garden clippings to create large compost piles to cook all winter.

In addition, members of the landscape committee planted bulbs, and we got a big head start on the collection of hoses. On Sunday they were all drained and tied up and stored for winter.

Enjoy a few pictures from this beautiful day.

Gentle Fall Clean Up Will Bring Healthier Soil and More Life

11/2/2020

Let Dry Leaves, Stems and Tree Branches Feed Your Soil & Shelter Pollinators.
compiled by Jack Burkhalter

Dry leaves on your garden’s soil are free and feed the soil! With the crisp days and cooler temperatures leading us to think of “fall clean-up,” in our gardens, consider a different approach this year. Fall’s brown leaves are rich sources of carbon and nutrients for your garden, and they are FREE!

Just rake them up off the garden paths and spread them over your garden (about 2 inches).

These dead leaves enrich your soil by --

– Providing a natural mulch
– Insulating the soil to retain water and protect against damaging freezes
– Feeding micro-organisms, insects, fungi that decompose

Remember we feed the soil that feeds the plants!

Be gentle with cutting back plants over the winter.
Leave dead-flower stalks over the winter. Leave neat brush & twig piles.

Keep dead plant stems intact in your garden over the winter. Get rid of messy plastic bags and simply leave piles of twigs, branches, or logs in your garden (slightly messy or neatly arranged!).

Dead woody material (a branch, twigs, leaves) provide abundant habitat for cavity-nesting pollinators, such as carpenter and mason bees.

Leave dead stems intact over the winter and into the summer
Good stem bee homes (pithy stems are best):

--Raspberry , blackberries
--Sunflowers, Coneflowers
      --Joe Pye weed, Hyssop,
      --Hydrangea
      --Native grasses, e.g., switchgrass, little and big bluestem

With a gentle clean up we can let the fireflies and certain butterflies and moths stay in the garden to be alive next spring!

First time on Zoom! Fall General Membership Meeting 2020

10/25/2020

Watch the meeting on our YouTube channel here.

The RIGC Fall General Membership Meeting was held virtually on Sunday, Oct 25. Thank you all for attending and making this first zoom general meeting a success in a year of challenges.

Virtual Fall General Meeting: Over 80 Participants Zoom In

10/25/2020

Our Fall General Membership Meeting was held virtually on Sunday, Oct 25. Thank you all for attending.

Watch the meeting on our YouTube channel here.

You may also just peruse the powerpoint presented that evening below.

What Birds Have You Seen and Heard Lately at RIGC?

8/20/2020

Monica Dow caught this video of an Eastern Kingbird flying out from the trees in the back and hunting insects over the B section of our gardens. He looks tiny, but watch carefully as he almost hovers in place.

Learn more about this bird at Eastern Kingbird Overview from Cornell Lab. If you have photos or videos or recordings of other bird sightings to share, please send to rigardencluboutreach@gmail.com.

Twenty Seconds in Paradise: Breathe in Calm

8/17/2020

John Dodge sent this video of his meditation garden and pond that we can all enjoy. The lotus flower is soon to bloom. Breathe deeply and listen as you watch. Dragonflies and fish are healthy and the water lily is also in bloom.

Letter from the Board: Guests and Tools - Opening Changes Approved by RIOC for Phase 3 of COVID 19 era in NYC

8/15/2020

Dear Members and Associates,

We have good news! Based on our recently updated agreement with RIOC, the garden club will move into its Phase 3 in the COVID-19 era.

Effective Saturday, August 15th, members are allowed to bring their guests into the garden; however, the gates will remain locked at all times, and the garden is still closed to the general public.

In addition, with proper sanitation the communal tool shed is again be accessible with your garden gate key. It is the responsibility of every member to take the time to sanitize the handles of the shared tools both before and after use.

Please use the spray bottle containing the bleach solution on the handles of the tools and wipe down with the provided cloths. Any member who had registered to use individual tools for the season should now return these tools back to the shed for proper storage. Please do this as soon as possible.

Thank you.

2020 RIGC Executive Board
President: Neal Weissman
Vice President: Johan Marfey
Secretary: Robert Ostergaard
Treasurer: Mike Ritter
Directors: Tim Wong, Takelu Gross, Jack Burkhalter
Outreach and Publicity Committee Chair: Julia Ferguson
Landscape & Common Areas Committee Chair: Curtis Lowrey
Rose Committee Chair: Marjorie Marcallino
Standards Committee Chair: Halima Aouchette

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