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Congratulations! on 08-14-22 the RIGC Standards Committee voted the following gardens (in a three way tie) as "Best May Gardens" C55- Mamta & Talat D01- Carolina & Jorg C28 -Curtis    And a hearty dose of encouragement also goes to "Most Improved Gardens" B04- Alexis C33- Antoine & Karina  The white throated sparrow was singing his joy and I am sure I heard the cherry trees thank us as we brought them new companion plants and tickled/aerated their little roots. With Roosevelt Islanders help we have completely planted phase one for this lovely little habitat site. It takes a village and we are especially lucky in that regard. What a beautiful day it was to celebrate ecosystem connections and restore a little bit of ground with people of all ages! Thank you so much to RIOC and RI community and RIGC members for all the help. Gratitude For another RI Habitat Planting - Phase 1 is complete after EarthLove Day 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)
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. 
 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.    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   Presented and prepared by Vice President Jack Burkhalter 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:
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 If you were unable to attend, take a few minutes to watch the meeting power point for news items and reminders. 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 rigardenclub@gmail.com. Here is a Further Description of RIGC's 2022 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 rigardenclub@gmail.com!  A pre-pandemic work and learning day with volunteers from a local high school. |
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