May 2022
ACTION ALERTS!
Please take the following actions:
1. NY Renews email to support the Public Renewables Act:
nyrenews.org/pass-the-build-public-renewables-act
2. Immediate calls needed:
Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins 888-834-3668
Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie 888-997-5380
All 12 Climate Can’t Wait bills must be passed before the legislature adjourns on June 1st. Details on these bills can be found here: climatecantwait.org/bills
Please act on these to achieve the goals of the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act (CLCPA).
Committee Updates
Pollinator Pathway: Bill outlined the plan for this initiative – to educate and encourage landowners to allow natural habitat and plants to grow to provide a home for insects and birds. This is a nationwide goal. There will soon be a Pollinator Pathway web page on the SW website.
Julia will research public lands that might also be available for hosting pollinator pathway gardens and exhibits, such as the library, schools and public parks. The library could be approached about hosting an event on this topic, and the dream goal would be to get a speaker like Doug Tallamy, author of Nature’s Best Hope, which has inspired many of us to join this movement. Soňa Mason is leading groups to explore wild areas with native plants. Contact Bill G or Julia for more information on these. Julia has native plants available for anyone who is interested; contact Julia for details. A good online source for native plants is thepollennation.com.
CLCPA update: Bill and Mary attended a webinar on what’s going on with the CLCPA. The Climate Action Council has put forth a Draft Scoping Plan, a complex and huge initiative that describes how New York State would reach the goals of the Paris Climate Agreement over the next 30 years. There is considerable backlash from fossil fuel interests, and much of the public that wants something done about climate change does not know much about the CLCPA. A committee was formed to work on ways to raise awareness of this initiative. The committee will focus on the links between climate change, pollution, diseases, and the local impact of all these elements. Committee members will be Mary, Bill, Geoff, Christina, Gail and possibly Julia.
Geoff suggested having a Call To Action page on the website. The two calls above could launch this.
No Mow May: Michael reported that this was started by Dan Mack, and it can be seen as a starter program for the Pollinator Pathway. Letting the grass in a lawn grow out in May is a simple way to support the insects, fireflies, bees and birds, but not as valuable as establishing perennial native plants.
Zoom Garden Plot: Chad reported that they are now on Season 3, Episode 5. All episodes can be seen on the Zoom Garden Plot webpage. There is a great group who interact in a biweekly Zoom session on Mondays to discuss hyper-local garden issues. Gardeners with all level of experience are welcome to join.
Community Garden: Geoff advised this is the 13thyear of this initiative, which has proved to be an ongoing success. Currently meeting once a week on Sundays, moving to twice a week soon. There are about 30 active members of this group, and about 20 members show up at each work session. The orchard is the big success story of this year. Arnold Vila has revitalized the orchard with help from the orchard team, while Nora Gurvich of the Warwick Historical Society and Jason Grizzanti of Warwick Valley winery have been giving advice on planting many varieties of grapes.
Book Club: This month we read The Book of Hope by Jane Goodall. Christina advised the group had wanted to read an uplifting book as the club has read so much depressing news about climate change. Reading this book by such a positive person was good. She uses stories, not data, to get her message across as she has found this works better with people and lasts longer. Her message is “Yes we can solve this – but will we?” She believes strongly in encouraging youth to get involved, and we read about her world-wide Roots and Shoots initiative. She wants to empower young people to effect positive change in their communities. There are green teams in the schools here in Warwick; would this be a good addition for them?
The Book Club next meets via zoom on June 14th, reading The Sixth Extinction by Elizabeth Kolbert.
The Green Screen: The committee interviewed all the School Board candidates and the interviews were published on the SW website and in the Warwick Valley Dispatch.
Other Business
Geoff updated us on an upcoming event – “We the People Warwick Story Share,” where people tell stories from their own lives, up to five minutes long. The first event will take place at Manor House, at Wickham Woodlands, on Wednesday June 1. This is based on the Moth Story Hour style of storytelling.
Riverkeepers: We participate in the annual statewide event dedicated to clearing debris from the Hudson River and its tributaries. We have cleared the Wawayanda Creek in Memorial Park and for next year are open to suggestions for other easily accessible areas of the creek that would benefit from some clearing. We work with the Village on garbage pickup and insurance issues, and we put up some posters. Next year we should write a press release for the papers to raise awareness of this event.
Discussion
It was agreed that we will try to hold the SW Annual Picnic at Warwick Town Park on Wednesday, August 24th from 6.00 pm to dusk. All are invited and should bring a dish to be shared and their own utensils.
Minutes by Christina Thomas