Blog Archives

2022 Community Service Days Begin April 24th Sunday

4/24/2022

Email from Neal Weissman RIGC President 2022:
Kudos to so many for so much accomplished!

Save the Date: Our next CS Day is Saturday, June 11th.

Email From Jack Burkhalter RIGC Vice President 2022:
Yesterday was a most productive day with great weather and esprit de corps! Thanks to you all for your dedication, time and leadership in generating the list of tasks and then doing them! Here are some stats, based on the initial sign-in sheet which we are still adding info to. Thanks again.

List for April 24, 2022 Community Service Day:

Number of participants signing in: 28
Number of hours participants contributed: 62.4 hours

A list of tasks accomplished: (Even more was actually completed)

Hoses: Take out of shed, distribute, and attach: DONE
Sweep front common area or back common area. Put leaves in leaf bins. Put small branches in branch pile. Dispose of any trash in bins. DONE
COMPOST : Transfer greens & browns from wire mesh cage to main compost bin DONE. Teach folks about where to put all organic items and how to sift when signs say open!
Rake pathways. Place leaves only (sift out gravel) in leaf bins. 80% DONE
Weed pathways: Beside E plot area DONE Adjacent to landscape beds all along the garden edge DONE Northeastern paths close to fence DONE
Separate weeds and place them in the organics to compost bin. Replace any gravel back in path. DONE
"Plogging" walk around the garden perimeter and pick up all trash & dog poop. Dispose of items in trash can in NW corner common area. ENTRANCE DONE
Paint numbers on plots missing number signs 90% DONE; some more work needed
Assemble new lockers 1 of 2 DONE
Paint small green cabinet w/Rust Oleum - DONE
Sand and paint the big green chair. DONE
Repair one of the big picnic tables DONE
Rose Garden planning meeting DONE
Tree removal in center of plot D 09: DONE

TO DO: Clean & organize tools in the shed. Remove any dirt. Help keep tools organized. Sweep the shed.

Join us for the next Community Service Day on June 11th.

Earth Day Visit from Girl Scout Troop 3233

4/23/2022

RIGC welcomed Susy del Campo and Fay Christian with their Girl Scout Troop 3233 for Earth Day composting, planting, and garden visit. It is great to have groups visiting the gardens again.

Peggy Roalf's Art with the Rockefeller Center Flag Project

4/21/2022

This year the Rockefeller Center's Flag Project is sponsored by the UN Environment Program and the Climate Museum NYC. Peggy Roalf, artist and longtime member of RIGC, has a piece of her beautiful abstract artwork displayed on one of the flags.

"For the Flag Project’s third annual iteration, Rockefeller Center collaborated with the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the Climate Museum, asking the public to submit flag designs that represent this year’s World Environment Day theme, “Only One Earth.”

On Sunday the Climate Museum is offering a day of family activities to coincide with Earth Day and the Flag Art.
https://climatemuseum.org/2022-events/2022/4/22/earth-day-initiatives

Member Orientation Refresher April 20th,2022

4/20/2022

Presented and prepared by Vice President Jack Burkhalter

Creating Urban Habitats with Rebecca McMackin of BBP

4/7/2022

We deeply appreciated Rebecca’s willingness to share her learning: the principles, and the practices of her entire BBP Hort Staff where the “dynamic relationships” of both people and ecosystems are honored and where the lives of plants, caterpillars, butterflies, birds, and people fit together “seamlessly” in an urban setting.

Over 80 people from all five boroughs of NYC, from places across the U.S., and from Nova Scotia to New Zealand were able to join us for Rebecca McMackin's talk. It was so great to hear about the work that she and her team are doing at Brooklyn Bridge Park. With ecological horticulture, they have transformed parking lots into stunning green spaces for people and pollinators.

Thanks again to the iDig2Learn, Cornell Tech, and the RIOC Office of Community and Community Affairs for teaming up with Roosevelt Island Community Garden to host this lecture.

Click below to hear the recording available until June 15th, 2022:
Rebecca McMackin from Brooklyn Bridge Park: A case study for seeing Roosevelt Island as an ecosystem - 04/07/22

Takeaways:

Check your ecoregion to learn what plants work where you are. We can consider our cities as a "disturbance regime." Learn about all that can grow with ecological horticulture that takes into account all the life cycles happening around us and supports them.
83% of North Americans live in cities so creating space for the natural world within is vital. We can begin by accepting a nature inspired aesthetic and not using pesticides that harm pollinators in public areas.
Brooklyn Bridge Park comprises several piers and surrounding areas, the largest park since 1860 when Prospect Park was created.
BBP has created salt marsh, fresh water, wet and dry meadows areas alongside dense hedge rows and more traditionally landscaped park plants for entrance areas. All were created with engineered soils of a variety of percentage mixes of sand, silt and clay plus compost.
Leave the leaves - caterpillars and other vital larvae for the beautiful pollinators who are overwintering there. Think of leaves as a slow motion carbon fountain dropping from the trees to the grounds decomposing and feeding the roots for uptake back within the tree. Certain birds like the Ovenbird and Swamp sparrows also need plant litter or duff to forage through. Leaves like Oak and Magnolia which are slow to decompose can be tucked out of sight for longer time periods. If you need a neat appearance for the public, consider a neat edge with areas under shrubs or just out of view left for natural systems.
Wait to cut back your gardens, many pollinators nest in hollow stems, some birds remove stem fibers from plants like the Milkweed to build nests. Heather Holm suggests 18" of stem which also acts to stabilize the new growth. When BBP left the stalks of the Rose mallow, birds actually nested at the base - your actions give life. Try building up biology to keep pests in check. In her own garden she makes "bird bouquets" by cutting but sticking the stalks with dried seed heads for birds in the soil around the plant.
Smooth aster and Heath aster host overwintering Pearl crescent butterflies so when clearing don't clear the base. Leave rotting logs for insects that need wood to survive in tucked away areas.
Try using iNaturalist to add your sightings and to learn what is nearby. Both Brooklyn Bridge Park and Roosevelt Island have spotted the Golden Northern Bumble bee and the Blueberry Digger bee. Plus the two spotted lady beetles have returned to BBP.
We are so used to thinking of cities as ecologically destitute and it is just not true. Cities are just very different and can even be refuges for certain species.
Manage beds to foster biodiversity and wildlife habitat. Remember plants will continue to evolve and be healthier thanks to the pollinators who in essence have designed them.
Learning about all the dynamics between and among organisms makes flowers and plants and life so much more beautiful!

Some of the Links shared during the talk:

Brooklyn Bridge Park Horticulture

RebeccaMcmackin website and newsletter

Brooklyn Bridge Park Environmental Education Center

NYC Pollinators Working Group

NYC Pollinators Working Group Resources

The Lenape Center

Engaged Roosevelt Island

2022 Community Service Days Begin April 24th Sunday

Earth Day Visit from Girl Scout Troop 3233

Peggy Roalf's Art with the Rockefeller Center Flag Project

Member Orientation Refresher April 20th,2022

Creating Urban Habitats with Rebecca McMackin of BBP

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