Thanks to one of our newest RIGC families, on Sunday afternoon, November 8th, we were able to hold our first ever pumpkin smashing event!  Everyone had a great time...except, perhaps, Mr. and Mrs. Jack O'Lantern.
​Keep calm and compost on!

Anthony Longo, Vaughn Anglesey, Karen Lee and other members worked hard in the heat of late July and August to update and enlarge our compost area.  We were very fortunate to have $250.00 of scaffolding lumber donated from Build It Green. So our compost area is also partially made of reused materials. The updated RIGC system now provides enough mass in the outdoor piles to bring the temperatures up to 140 degrees Fahrenheit and beyond.  This is great news for killing weed seeds.  Certain slats come out to make work much easier for moving the materials.  

Bring your new materials (greens and browns) that overflow from composting in your own plots. Kitchen scraps (fruits and vegetables) go in the black tumblers.  

​Please do not add any plastic or plastic bags or use them anywhere.  Recycle your grocery bags at Gristedes.

Anthony spends about 20 hours a month working with the Compost Area. Karen Lee also spends many hours helping out.  All ages can help sift and prepare compost for plots.  Read more at this link and join us actively next season!

​http://www1.nyc.gov/assets/dsny/downloads/pdf/promotional-materials/outdoor-composting-guide-06339-f.pdf

“We, the generation that faces the next century, can add the solemn injunction If we don’t do the impossible, we shall be faced with the unthinkable. “   Petra Karin Kelly
 
Petra Karin Kelly received the The Right Livelihood Award in 1982,  for “forging and implementing a new vision uniting ecological concerns with disarmament, social justice, and human rights.” It is an international award to “honour and support those offering practical and exemplary answers to the most urgent challenges facing us today. “ (Right Livelihood Award) In 2006 Kelly was also listed by the British Government 's Environment Agency, as one of the top 100 people to have done the most to save the planet when the public was not yet ready to hear nor accept the realities of humans' impact on the earth. (Earthshakers, The Guardian)
 
We can do the possible and the impossible! By improving our composting and our recycling we will make a difference! Take a moment to think about what we are feeding the earth. Wouldn't you rather give Mother Nature the things she needs to help her thrive and to help us survive? She needs us now more than ever. 

So please remember to help make a salad for the compost with your kitchen scraps and garden debris. Each time you do so, so much less goes into fossil fuels used to transport trash and so much less organic waste goes to landfills to mummify and give off toxic fumes. Browns and greens will enrich the bounty she returns to us. The minute or two we take to slow down and cut up a few dead brown stalks and or bring a few green trimmings to compost, this is a priceless treasure. Slow down, just a bit, and join us! 
 
For tips or questions on how to make your compost work better please see our Go Green page or contact the Compost Committee or Karen Lee  [email protected]  
 
Our next Compost class will be May 2, Saturday 9:30-10:30 A.M. Raindate May 3rd at the same time.
Compost Questions /Troubleshooting 11:30-12:30 same dates. Thanks for checking in.

RIGC Compost Committee is teaming up this year with the Boy Scouts to offer a place for recycling, reusing, and eventually composting the branches and needles from the Island tree sales.


The longest night of the year and winter solstice have now passed and the feasting can continue as we await a green New Year 2015!