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Mid-week Gardening Experiences for Kids & Teens at RIGC

6/22/2018

Summer classes for elementary and middle school students were announced and three students enjoyed these twice weekly gardening experiences throughout late June and July. We studied pollination and pollinators, composting and decomposers. We made a list of all kinds of gardening activities that we tried together: observing, measuring, digging, planting, weeding, pruning, using the wheelbarrow, composting, harvesting. We worked together to put in some garden borders and helped garden neighbors with small projects.

Inquiry based as well as theme based scavenger hunts were part of our activities and we explored concepts like cycles, diversity, and interdependence. David and Eoin are from a wait-listed family and AJ is well known around the garden. We also had a 12th grade UNIS student, Sevario, present for community service who helped make some of these pilot classes a fun experience for all.

These afternoons were filled with learning for teacher and students alike. We will have another series in the fall. Stop by garden C-30B to check out the space that the students share and use thanks to generous garden member, Elizabeth Stapen.

Native bee nesting shelter.

Making a sign for the garden.

Do what? Join RIGC for gardening experiences for youth this summer. Pre-4th grade and up. Four-six spots open at each class.

How? Send an email to rigardencluboutreach@gmail.com. Send back the liability waiver/permission slip and get return confirmation before attending.

When? 4:30 to 6:00 p.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays
June 26th, June 28th, July 3rd, July 5th,
July 10th, July 12, July 17th, July 19th
Flexible schedule: Sign up to for one class or for all.

Who? Activities with Julia Ferguson, RIGC member.

Where? Meet at the front gate of RIGC near the Rose Garden.

Island Neighbors Come Together to Restore Coler Grounds

6/20/2018

From Compost in Buckets to Container Garden Renewal to an Amazing Courtyard Renovation

The Roosevelt Island Garden Club was honored to participate in a collaborative community initiative at Coler Hospital this month. Organized by Christina Delfico of iDig2learn, a coalition of Roosevelt Island volunteers joined 130 Google employees on the grounds of NYC Health + Hospitals/Coler to restore some of the local hospital’s substantial green spaces.

The event was the culmination of more than a half-year of collaborations between Roosevelt Island neighbors and organizations, but it all started with a chance encounter in the Roosevelt Island Garden Club's Community Garden.

The idea to revitalize Coler's green spaces began when Coler resident Melrose Barnes struck up a conversation with RIGC member Anthony Longo. Barnes mentioned how the outdoor spaces at Coler had been damaged by Hurricane Sandy. And Longo began providing Barnes with compost that Barnes transported in small loads in his wheelchair.

In true Roosevelt Island fashion, soon a coalition of active residents and community organizers began putting their heads together to come up with bigger and better solutions. Roosevelt Island Garden Club Outreach Director Robert Ostergaard and RIGC club member Julia Ferguson (who was working on a map of island green spaces) jumped onboard. Ferguson, in turn, contacted Christina Delfico at iDig2Learn, to see what more could be done. Along with Longo (of Green Roosevelt Island Neighbors) they visited Coler, where they met with Jovemay Santos, Director of Therapeutic Recreation, and Margaret Lopes, Supervising Children’s Counselor.

And together they started scouting and planning.

Photo Credits: Olya Turcihin

"Everyone here at Coler is touched by this generous gift of giving by all concerned."

“During our scout, Roosevelt Island Garden Club and Green Roosevelt Island Neighbors committed to cleaning up a memory unit garden and a container garden space using compost, plant donations, and island volunteers," says Delfico. RIGC was able to do this in April 2018, but this was only the tip of the iceberg. In the meantime, Christina began to plan for the larger courtyard space to pull in whatever resources she could to help.That help included enlisting longtime iDig2Learn supporter, Citizens Committee for New York City, which connected Delfico to Google. So, iDig2Learn, CCNYC, and Google worked tirelessly with Coler staff to put this amazing day together for June.

Then it happened. By the end of the day on June 20th, these Roosevelt Island volunteers and CCNYC and Google employees had created three new flower beds, revitalized and replanted three additional beds, painted railings and benches, and patched and painted a large shade structure for residents. They also set up garden umbrellas, built wheelchair-accessible planters, and created an area of native plantings to attract pollinators. And they planted dozens of containers (used and new) using hundreds of plants and bags of soil acquired for this project by iDig2learn.

Thanks to Longo and Green Roosevelt Island Neighbors, all of the garden debris was sorted, sifted, and brought to the Community Garden for composting. Next fall, Longo and Garden Club Members will be able to bring this compost back to Coler's gardens.

"Everyone here at Coler is touched by this generous gift of giving by all concerned." said Robert Hughes, CEO of Coler. "We are deeply moved by the volunteers from the Roosevelt Island Garden Club and Green Roosevelt Island Neighbors. Special recognition to iDig2Learn for giving us this opportunity to enhance and create a therapeutic green space for our residents to enjoy for years to come. Now we're going to be able to really use it. Everyone’s done such a wonderful job and I’m so excited to see what’s to come.”

To read more about the event, check out the Roosevelt Islander Online.

Groups and individuals involved in this project include iDig2Learn; NYC Health + Hospitals/Coler, Citizens Committee for New York City, Google, Green Roosevelt Island Neighbors (GRIN), Roosevelt Island Garden Club (RIGC), Studio150 Multimedia, Roosevelt Island Tree Board, Northcreek Nurseries, Fantastic Gardens, Andrew Rohrberger, Erika Lim, Mike Bufano, Mr. Melrose Barnes, Jovemay Santos, Margaret Lopes, Robert Hughes, Leah Matias, Al Pistone, Monsy Nieves-Martinez, Jose Torres, Robin Middleton, Maria Alinea-Bravo, Jose Serrano, George Smith, Kenny Ealy, Nelson Rosa, Andres (Jay) Molina, David Strayker, Danny Mahadeo, Julio Bonet, Therapeutic Recreation Services, Coler’s Hospitals Police, Vaughn Anglesey, Anthony Longo, Julia Ferguson, Robert Ostergaard, Neal Weissman, Dr. Ali Schwayri, Franta, Olya Turcihin, Michelle Fei, Alex Enoch, Nick Craner, Dawn Price, Janine Schaefer, Maria Starkova, Judy Berdy and all the volunteers and residents who made this project possible.
Photo Credits: Olya Turcihin

Roosevelt Island Day 2018

6/16/2018

Expanding on the last two years, (click here and here), RIGC members helped RIOC with some of their main plans for Roosevelt Island Day this year. Today, June 16th between 9 a.m. and 12 noon, RIGC volunteers led RI residents in planting projects and beautification near Good Shepherd Plaza.

At our table near BigReuse, the activity was learning to notice Roosevelt Island's trees. We provided original coloring sheets for anyone who wanted to learn more about the trees around us: Linden, Gingko, Cherry, Cottonwood, Elm, Red Maple, and Oak. Many thanks to Laura Dutilloy, artist for Fall for Arts last year, and for this project.

For planting, RIOC provided both annuals and perennials. Many volunteers arrived at 9:00 a.m. sharp. Volunteers helped to transport plants, design, and plant six empty tree pits on Main Street with bright annuals. These volunteers were kind and resilient when we lacked some trowels and misplaced the gloves for a bit. Roosevelt Island community spirit and patience prevailed. The Girl Scouts and the MSTD&A team were champions! Gardeners and gardening friends also showed up with experience leadership, and enthusiasm!

The second wave of volunteers planted a few areas on Good Shepherd Plaza trying carefully to match the beautiful landscaped design. RIOC provided perennials for these beds.

Then Anthony Longo and 'GRIN' (Green Roosevelt Island Neighbors) arrived right when we needed them, and the rest of the volunteers were able to feed the plantings with compost donated from our RI food scraps collected each Saturday by BigReuse hosted by NYC Compost.

Thank you so much to all the volunteers who graciously helped dig and plant and compost. Thank you RIOC for inviting us to help make Roosevelt Island green and welcoming.

Citigroup Volunteers for RIGC

6/8/2018

On Friday, June 8th, 25 volunteers from Citigroup spent four hours working hard at and around the gardens: repairing our pathway infrastructure, helping to beautify the Island tree pit spaces, preparing wood for internal garden border upgrades, and more. They were a power house of helpfulness!

Community counts so much and Roosevelt Island is all about community! About three weeks prior to this date, Roosevelt Island Garden Club received an email from Jane Swanson, Cornell Tech Community Liaison to tell us about a possible service day for Citigroup employees who work in the Bridge building at the Cornell Tech campus.

Board member Beverly Shutes said, "Of Course!" and Neal Weissman, our president, said, "Certainly!" and despite our all volunteer status as a club, we found the time and the hosting power to make it so.

The weather was beautiful. Beverly prepared the tools and the tasks. Neal prepared lunch and more. Geof Kerr came out to help. Neal Weisman wrote to Eric Muensch, who led the Citigroup team and helped make the day happen, "Thanks again for all your help today. Your team was amazing. You got some sharp self starters there and are welcome to do it again next year or just to visit. This was a good team building exercise, a good neighbor policy in action, and a welcome opportunity for everyone to refresh their batteries by being out of the office.
Thanks a hundred times for every nail that was removed!"

RIGC is only able to move ahead on so many important projects because of exactly this kind of volunteer service. There is something wonderful about being outside in a garden and help like this makes it even more special for everyone!

Mid-week Gardening Experiences for Kids & Teens at RIGC

Island Neighbors Come Together to Restore Coler Grounds

Roosevelt Island Day 2018

Citigroup Volunteers for RIGC

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