Roosevelt Island Garden Club - A Community Garden
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Learn about RIGC Committee Options!

1/16/2022

 
Committees are groups of garden volunteers who work together in an ongoing capacity to help run and maintain our community garden space. Any member or associate may join a committee. If you would like to join a committee you can sign up on your registration form, at the spring general meeting, or by sending an email to [email protected] at any time! 

Here is a Further Description of RIGC's Standing Committees:

Standards
The Standards Committee is responsible for ensuring that community members maintain their gardens and pathways to our collective standards so that RIGC is a source of natural beauty on Roosevelt Island. The committee meets monthly to assess all the gardens in the club according to the Rules and Regulations. This committee also communicates with members and the Board about any needs that may arise regarding the proper maintenance of individual gardens. Join this committee if you are committed to beautifying our garden or want to learn more about small garden design.

Rose Garden
The Rose Garden Committee is responsible for planting and maintaining the Rose Garden. The Committee has a community education and pruning day in April and meets monthly together or in small groups to maintain the rose garden. Join this committee if you want to learn or share skills on growing roses and clematis.

Outreach & Publicity
The Outreach & Publicity Committee works with education and community-building activities and engages with the broader Roosevelt Island community. There are one-off and ongoing ways to participate. Signing up means you can  assist with events if interested or you can work on garden signage or the website. Past projects have included: hosting garden visits; offering free classes for youth; or participating in Roosevelt Island Day and Fall for Arts. Join this committee if you like writing, graphic design, or art activities.

Maintenance
The Maintenance Committee manages and oversees maintenance projects and is responsible for the upkeep of tools and equipment. Maintenance projects are planned and executed as they arise. Members work in supervised small groups on planned work days. Past projects have included: upgrading pathways, upgrading the wooden borders surrounding each plot, water line repair, hose maintenance, cleaning and repairing tools, and others. Join this committee if you want to learn or share skills related to carpentry, using tools, and building the physical infrastructure of the garden.

Landscape & Common Areas

The Landscape & Common Areas Committee is responsible for planting and maintaining the garden’s borders, exterior perimeters and common areas. The committee meets for about two planning meetings per year, and members plant and maintain the landscape areas in small groups on their own time or on agreed upon work days. Join this committee if you want to learn or share skills with the aesthetics of landscape design, pruning, soil and plant care.

Compost
The Compost Committee returns all types of organic matter to the Earth. We have varied tasks and a relaxed schedule. Outreach is a big part of what we do, so it’s not all bugs and banana peels.  No experience necessary. New associates and gardeners are especially welcome. Mother nature does most of the work. We just need to learn, then teach each other how to get out of the way.

Ad Hoc Pest Control – Mosquitoes
 This team’s goal is to reduce mosquitoes in the garden by deploying traps, dunks, mosquitofish, and reporting standing water.
 
Ad Hoc Pest Control – Rats
 This team’s goal is to reduce the rat population. Some members spray bleach onto paths to make them less welcome and other members add bait (ex: peanut butter) to the dozen traps that are scattered about the club for their extraction.
 
Ad Hoc Pest Control – Spotted Lanternflies
This new team will be on the hunt for the Spotted Lanternfly. Looking for members who might be skilled to help build traps and others who can patrol, capture, and destroy the insect as well as their eggs. Spotted Lanterflies have been seen in small numbers within the garden. The issue is small now but this team will meet to discuss future steps to help prevent this from becoming a problem.

 
Have other ideas for a short or long-term project? Let us know by emailing [email protected]!
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A pre-pandemic work and learning day with volunteers from a local high school.

November Magic - 11/14/21 Community Service Day

11/14/2021

 
The light and the air in mid-November have a special quality that is hard to put into any words, and our garden community of people also has a special quality of collaboration and kindness that is hard to put into words.  Tanya Starace caught this in her photos of our work day on Sunday November 14th. We saw so many Members and Associates who were able to be out helping. Four new Members received their plots . We had volunteers from La Scuola d'Italia in Manhattan and also from Roosevelt Island working alongside so many of all ages.  Take some time to enjoy these beautiful photos.

Volunteer Day on October 16!

11/4/2021

 
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Roosevelt Island neighbors and other visitors often ask how they can help out and get exercise alongside us in the gardens.  In October this year we reached out to some of those who have emailed or spoken up and they joined us alongside some teens out for service hours. We enjoyed a working morning of tool clean up, path repair, and compost materials prep. Thank you all! 
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Cornell Tech's Service Learning Course and RIGC

9/10/2017

 
Cornell Tech campus moved on to Roosevelt Island this summer and RIGC has been part of the welcoming committee.  As one of the many non-profits on Roosevelt Island, we are also unique in that we are an all volunteer organization.

We were honored to be invited by Jane Swanson, Cornell Tech Community Liaison, to connect with Professor Tapan Parikh in June as he began planning a new Service Learning course for Cornell Tech Graduate Students. Sande Elinson, Neal Weissman, and Julia Ferguson enjoyed this meeting and began the connection. Then in August, RIGC was invited to attend the opening reception along with other RI non-profit organizations like the Carter Burden Senior Center, Main Street Theatre, RIVAA gallery, RI Historical Society, Dr. Jack Resnick, and more.  Anthony Longo and Julia Ferguson were able to represent RIGC at this exciting reception hosted by RIVAA at the Art Gallery and enjoyed officially greeting Cornell Tech students for the first time.  

Three weeks later...we have already begun meeting and corresponding with three wonderful graduate students who are researching and exploring a service project for RIGC and RI. They will work to complete a green and also technology related project by the end of November.  More news soon as this exciting collaboration continues. 
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RIGC Bench Project: Update Our Garden Furniture 2017

9/6/2017

 
PictureExamples of high quality teak benches in "Les Jardins Suspendus, Le Havre, France"
The RIGC Board works with members to upgrade and improve our gardens. One way to do this is to repair and replace aging garden furniture in common areas as well as place additional benches around our perimeter landscape beds.  During this 2017 season, we have been the fortunate recipients of some professional grade teak benches. We are  working with ADA requirements per Human Rights Commission recommendations as we want our pathways and our garden site to be accessible to all.  

The plan is to provide a high quality bench at the end of each pathway for visitors and members to relax and enjoy the gardens, without any temptation or need to enter member plots. These are the same benches found in botanical gardens and they are practical, long lasting and enhance the beauty of our gardens. Teak is superior for outdoor purposes and can last for many, many years with no special treatment other than washing it down once or twice a year. This wood will age to a beautiful, silvery gray color.


​Board members have spent considerable time working with online and community resources that provide very low cost or sometimes even "free for pick up" opportunities for new and used professional grade garden benches and common area tables. The process takes time, and can bring surprises and also disappointments. For example, you may find a new, barely used pair of benches or you may drive out of the city to an estate sale, only to discover that the benches are not in good shape. However, we have acquired six beautiful benches already and are working to find several more.  The Landscape Committee is guiding this project and chair, Johan Marfey, prepared the image below that shows the plan and progress as of September 1st.

RIGC is a not for profit 501(c)(3) organization that can accept donations. If you are interested in donating any amount towards this project, please contact the secretary at [email protected]. 

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July 2017 Community Service Days

7/30/2017

 
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Unlike dear, clever Tom Sawyer, RIGC members pitch in regularly to work together on projects.  Many members do more than than the required 3 hours of service for the club each season. This year we chose some hot, sunny days for two summer work opportunities to maintain the infrastructure of the gardens. 

On 15 July, Saturday 9:30 to 1:30 volunteers contributed to landscape work, pruning, weeding, path clean up, painting, general repairs, and a mulching workshop.
On 22 July, Saturday 9:30 to 1:30 volunteers contributed to AVAC runs, more painting, composting, another mulching workshop, and work in the Rose Garden.

It really does take all of us -- 132 plot holding families and the Associates -- working together to make our garden grow.

If you were unable to make these weekend dates, please contact [email protected] for Community Service tasks that can be done at anytime.

RIGC Landscape Committee  News

6/19/2017

 
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Our RIGC Landscape Borders and Common Areas are a very important part of what we share with our visitors. Julie Lipp served as RIGC Chair of the Landscape Committee from 2013-2016,working very hard with her team to clean up and clean out. For many years prior, Julie had already helped with the perimeter and common areas creating beautiful spaces like the iris bed just east of the cottonwood tree and the beds with David Austin Wildflower Roses to the north east. In addition, Julie Lipp brought in experts like landscape architect Daryl Beyers (currently NYBG's Gardening Program Coordinator) to guide and teach the committee. Julie helped RIGC to focus on design and to refresh, rethink.  Along with the committee, she added significant plantings to border areas like the west bed and added anchor plants and bulbs in the north beds.  Her constant work brought the revitalization of the landscape beds and common areas into full swing.

This year, Johan Marfey is serving as Chair of the Landscape Committee. He has worked with the 2017 team for a plan that he calls "comprehensive landscape enhancement." They have already finished work to improve the soil and stabilize by plantings in the north beds with mulching and soaker hoses. The committee is now identifying every plant for signage, so that the entire perimeter and front common area of our garden will have small signs with the names of the plants. These signs will match the current southwest border and create a look much like a botanical garden for the benefit of members and visitors alike. In addition, Johan and the 2017 group are working with the Board to review and update benches in the garden for safety, accessibility, beauty, and comfort.  

What is the most recent Accessible Pathways News?

6/5/2017

 
 Timeline Update:
This four year project is almost completed!  We hope to finish in only three years thanks to last year's grant from CCNYC!  This year's gravel pathway work began as early as possible in April. We have almost distributed all of this gravel and will need one more small load to complete the entire garden!

We have involved many gardeners and many teens who need community service for their high school programs.  Most recently we had three college freshman return to help out for the third year in a row.  The work is backbreaking and heavy duty, but also rewarding and some gardeners use it as their cardio and core work replacement.   Stay tuned for our celebration!

Pathway Maintenance Advice:
  • Step on and turn your foot on top of small weeds to loosen and then sweep or pick them up.  Keep the path in front of your garden weed-free!
  • When you weed, use a bucket, basket, or wheel barrow to catch the organic materials (instead of dropping them in the path as some of us used to do.) This saves your back from clean up and helps you take it all to new materials in the composting area.
  • If you bring in dirt or plants or heavy work, cover the path with an open bag, newspaper, or tarp. This will make for quicker clean up and save the path from damage.


Important reminder:
The Human Rights Commission has visited and studied our garden. They have made recommendations for how we can make our site more accessible. Please remember to keep ALL items out of the pathways when you are not working in your garden.  Pick up any boards or items that are related to ongoing projects. Roll up the hoses neatly as you do and let us know if you would like a hose stand. For accessibility purposes and for safety and insurance, we must keep all pathways open by thirty six inches and clear of any steps, chairs, or personal property.

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Volunteer Board Members Work For RIGC In Many Ways

3/14/2017

 
There can be no other occupation like gardening in which, if you were to creep up behind someone at their work, you would find them smiling. ~Mirabel Osler
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It is a pleasure and an honor to serve as an elected or appointed member of the Roosevelt Island Garden Club Board. Volunteer work alongside all the constant RIGC member support is rewarding. We get to see close up how RIGC members cherish Roosevelt Island, the gardens, the green spaces of our earth.

Board members work alongside RIGC members to create the beauty and community of our Roosevelt Island gardens that are open seasonally for so many Roosevelt Island residents and visitors. 

Since 2013, our updated RIGC By-Laws include four elected Officers and three elected Directors. In addition, RIGC has standing committee Chairs who are appointed to serve on the Board. The Board meets monthly with formal meeting minutes, agendas, and careful attention to quorum; following Roberts Rules for all meetings. In between our meetings, Board members follow up on our respective roles and projects. We stay in touch and work to provide the best possible gardening season for all.

Board member volunteer work might be measured in hours -- from 2 to 10 to 20 or more -- per week. But just like our member volunteer work for community service, it cannot be fully measured in this way. We value the friendships created, our care for the earth, and the constant learning.  Our time working alongside each other for RIGC is "priceless!"

Mild February Brings Heartwarming Donation to RIGC

3/14/2017

 
RIGC receives a large donation of wood from
United Hoisting and Scaffolding Corp. in L.I.C.! 

RIGC has been sprucing up for several years now with hours of volunteer work on landscape beds and accessible pathways renovations. Kwasi Long and Vaughn Anglesey worked on some of our wood border replacements two years ago. Up[grades are always ongoing.

This year we will begin a more complete project to upgrade external plot borders along pathways and internal borders between garden plots.  The work will take more than one season, but we have received an incredible boost for this project.  Thanks to United Hoisting and Scaffolding Corp. in L.I.C. we have a large donation of wood ready and waiting to be used. 

Garden members Beverly Shutes, Zachary Shutes, Neal Weissman, David Nisthaus, Anthony Longo, Chris Enock, Anne Mascia, and Johan Marfey were all able to help unload and stack this gift early on Monday, February 27, 2017. 

We thank United Hoisting and Scaffolding Corp. in LIC for this generous donation and a wonderful 2017 February surprise!

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Email for website submissions 
or comments: 
[email protected]

Email for general 
concerns:
r[email protected]
Write to us:
RIGC
PO Box 127
NY, NY 10044
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