Blog Posts

2022 Community Service Days Begin April 24th Sunday

4/24/2022

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)

Hoses: Take out of shed, distribute, and attach: DONE
Sweep front common area or back common area. Put leaves in leaf bins. Put small branches in branch pile. Dispose of any trash in bins. DONE
COMPOST : Transfer greens & browns from wire mesh cage to main compost bin DONE. Teach folks about where to put all organic items and how to sift when signs say open!
Rake pathways. Place leaves only (sift out gravel) in leaf bins. 80% DONE
Weed pathways: Beside E plot area DONE Adjacent to landscape beds all along the garden edge DONE Northeastern paths close to fence DONE
Separate weeds and place them in the organics to compost bin. Replace any gravel back in path. DONE
"Plogging" walk around the garden perimeter and pick up all trash & dog poop. Dispose of items in trash can in NW corner common area. ENTRANCE DONE
Paint numbers on plots missing number signs 90% DONE; some more work needed
Assemble new lockers 1 of 2 DONE
Paint small green cabinet w/Rust Oleum - DONE
Sand and paint the big green chair. DONE
Repair one of the big picnic tables DONE
Rose Garden planning meeting DONE
Tree removal in center of plot D 09: DONE

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.

Earth Day Visit from Girl Scout Troop 3233

4/23/2022

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.

Peggy Roalf's Art with the Rockefeller Center Flag Project

4/21/2022

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

Member Orientation Refresher April 20th,2022

4/20/2022

Presented and prepared by Vice President Jack Burkhalter

Creating Urban Habitats with Rebecca McMackin of BBP

4/7/2022

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:

Check your ecoregion to learn what plants work where you are. We can consider our cities as a "disturbance regime." Learn about all that can grow with ecological horticulture that takes into account all the life cycles happening around us and supports them.
83% of North Americans live in cities so creating space for the natural world within is vital. We can begin by accepting a nature inspired aesthetic and not using pesticides that harm pollinators in public areas.
Brooklyn Bridge Park comprises several piers and surrounding areas, the largest park since 1860 when Prospect Park was created.
BBP has created salt marsh, fresh water, wet and dry meadows areas alongside dense hedge rows and more traditionally landscaped park plants for entrance areas. All were created with engineered soils of a variety of percentage mixes of sand, silt and clay plus compost.
Leave the leaves - caterpillars and other vital larvae for the beautiful pollinators who are overwintering there. Think of leaves as a slow motion carbon fountain dropping from the trees to the grounds decomposing and feeding the roots for uptake back within the tree. Certain birds like the Ovenbird and Swamp sparrows also need plant litter or duff to forage through. Leaves like Oak and Magnolia which are slow to decompose can be tucked out of sight for longer time periods. If you need a neat appearance for the public, consider a neat edge with areas under shrubs or just out of view left for natural systems.
Wait to cut back your gardens, many pollinators nest in hollow stems, some birds remove stem fibers from plants like the Milkweed to build nests. Heather Holm suggests 18" of stem which also acts to stabilize the new growth. When BBP left the stalks of the Rose mallow, birds actually nested at the base - your actions give life. Try building up biology to keep pests in check. In her own garden she makes "bird bouquets" by cutting but sticking the stalks with dried seed heads for birds in the soil around the plant.
Smooth aster and Heath aster host overwintering Pearl crescent butterflies so when clearing don't clear the base. Leave rotting logs for insects that need wood to survive in tucked away areas.
Try using iNaturalist to add your sightings and to learn what is nearby. Both Brooklyn Bridge Park and Roosevelt Island have spotted the Golden Northern Bumble bee and the Blueberry Digger bee. Plus the two spotted lady beetles have returned to BBP.
We are so used to thinking of cities as ecologically destitute and it is just not true. Cities are just very different and can even be refuges for certain species.
Manage beds to foster biodiversity and wildlife habitat. Remember plants will continue to evolve and be healthier thanks to the pollinators who in essence have designed them.
Learning about all the dynamics between and among organisms makes flowers and plants and life so much more beautiful!

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

Spring General Meeting 2022

3/20/2022

If you were unable to attend, take a few minutes to watch the meeting power point for news items and reminders.

A Prelude to Spring by Vera's Pen (March 17, 2022)

3/18/2022

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]!

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

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!

<<Previous

Forward>>