Dreams do come true...and in this case, because of the huge efforts of friends, partners, and neighbors. In January 2016, Anthony Longo and Julia Ferguson sat in Main Street Sweets before the RIGC board meeting talking about hopes for the year with compost and outreach. In their notes they wrote:
- Work with BIG REUSE for organics recycling growth
- Enlarge (begin) pumpkin smash and tree chipping
Christina Delfico, iDig2Learn, and Erycka De Jesus, BigReuse/NYC Compost and Anthony Longo spoke in a conference call in September to set the November 4th date for pumpkins and leaves. Then Erycka and Christina took the lead and worked together on preparations for a month. Erycka de Jesus and Devin Reitsma and Leah Retherford and their work with NYC Compost@ BigReuse were the reason we could offer to do this.
Christina Delfico's amazing service network, partnering skills, and production techniques brought connections with RIOC, Manhattan Park, P.S. I.S. 217, RIRA, and so many more on Roosevelt Island brought the happy crowds. We had a dream come true day yesterday! Everyone chipped in to bash pumpkins, gather leaves, and send these natural resources away to be composted! Julia Ferguson took personal day from work to help out. She spent her day watching and listening to the parents and children.
- "This is what a farmer must feel like."
- "This is what a gardener does."
- "Can I take this to the worms?"
- "I had a garden class at school!"
- "Do you want to bring your pumpkin again next year?"
We sent over forty bags of leaves and three huge, green toters of pumpkins to be composted back into enriched soil for parks, gardens, street trees, and community groups. For more sounds and sights of the day, check out this video by Nick Turner posted to the Roosevelt Islander blogspot or like the Facebook page at BigReuse to see a live post.
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