RIGC Members, Associates, Haki Compost Volunteers, and new Roosevelt Island neighbors who saw our poster all showed up together for this quiet, late afternoon potluck picnic. We had fresh tomatoes, basil pesto sauce, and green beans in salad from garden produce. We had delicious vegan and vegetarian entrees as well as sweet homemade brownies and cupcakes and grandparent sugar cookie recipes.  Alby, the Australian shepherd doodle, tried to convince everyone to share their plate.  Carolina brought her Roosevelt Island bird photos and we played the ID game.  Aiesha loaned reusable table service items and folks brought their own plates, too.  Our primary leftover waste items were the container for mini cupcakes that we donated to the RIVAA gallery opening party and one red plastic uline cup! 

Cornell Tech has reached out to community organizations for volunteer service and collaborative projects for many years, now.  Often these days happened in the spring, but this year, six Cornell Tech Students came out to the garden on a Friday afternoon in early October to work on sifting fresh compost, dig a trench for border work, and remove leaves, weeds, and large stones to prepare paths for new gravel in the eastern side of the garden. Laura & Neal coordinated the service and we were happy to host these Roosevelt Island academic neighbors! (See pictures below: that is a lot of freshly sifted beautiful compost for our garden beds and to share. )