November 2023
Wednesday, November 15, 2023
Meeting chair: Michael Helme
Attendees were welcomed, two new guests introduced themselves and were welcomed. Billie Gallo introduced herself as the new Outreach Coordinator at the Albert Wisner Public Library and expressed an interest in working with SW on future events.
Project Updates
Transformation Trails at Wickham Woodlands:
Bill reported on the very successful planting event for the new arboretum with the Warwick Shade Tree Commission and the newly formed Transformation Trails organization. A total of twenty-seven trees were planted, 7 by the Town DPW and 20 by volunteers. Check out this really cool video from the event which captures the fun of that Saturday morning planting session. The participants agreed it was a great morning. Our fundraising campaign for Transformation Trails is ongoing for this initiative. Sustainable Warwick happily provided funding for 17 of the trees planted, and our fundraising campaign for new trees and meadows in the Transformation Trails is ongoing.
Food Scraps Collection:
Kate updated SW on the plans for winter composting. The last Warwick Farmers Market is this weekend (11/19) and there has been interest in continuing this initiative throughout the year.
Two solutions have been identified for the winter:
Starting Wednesday, November 29th there will be drop off bins at Price Chopper for two hours, once a week manned by SW volunteers from 10am - Noon. The DPW will then collect the bins. This will be promoted at the Farmers Market this Sunday and also with articles in The Advertiser and The Dispatch and a mailing to all SW members. Outreach for volunteers will start soon.
The second solution is still at the planning stage, but Kate is working with the year-round Warwick Farmers Market in Pine Island, which is open on Sundays from 10 AM to noon; they are interested in working with us to include a food scraps collection table at their market.
These are solutions for Warwick residents this winter, and we expect that the spring will see us back at the Warwick Farmers Market. By this time next year, Orange County will open a year-round facility in New Hampton to accept food scraps for composting. This can be a great opportunity for municipalities to reduce their solid waste bills.
Michael Sweeton Retirement: We discussed the retirement of Michael Sweeton as Warwick Town Supervisor after 20 great years and our good wishes for him as he heads into other pursuits.
Sustainable World Book Club: Christina reported that the November book, “Fire Weather, a True Story from a hotter world,” was very popular with the SW Book club members. A “true page turner” about the relationship between fire and climate and how houses are worse than trees for fires as they burn hotter and quicker. The members of Book Club will be reading “The Sound of a Wild Snail Eating” by Elisabeth Tova Bailey for the next club meeting on December 12, 2023. Everyone is welcome to join the discussion. Contact BookClub@sustainablewarwick.org for more information.
Village pollinator project: Bill reported on a proposal from Abbey Ashely to present a pollinator planting project to SW at the January meeting. She has already succeeded in getting the Village of Warwick declared as a Monarch Butterfly City, and the month of June will be full of events to celebrate this. Her goal is to get all the organizations working along similar lines to collaborate, such as SW’s Pollinator Pathway team, the Albert Wisner Public Library (which will be receiving funding from Senator James Skoufis for pollinator plantings), Transformation Trails, and the Audubon Society. She is working with Sanfordville school on this as well. The Steering Committee agreed this was a good fit with SW.
What's going on in Albany? Mary reported on an organization called NY Renews, which wants to work with Sustainable Warwick to promote outreach on environmental concerns to Albany legislators and their staff members. If you are interested in learning more about this, contact the Steering Committee.
Helpsy: Kate has talked to this company and believes we can work together to help redirect textiles, clothes, shoes and other household items to reduce waste. Their goal is to re-purpose and redirect donated items; they sell some to thrift shops and repurpose or recycle others. SW agreed this is a good idea, and Kate will form a committee to pursue this with Julia and Christina. More volunteers are welcome.
We will hold our Annual Zero-Waste Holiday Potluck Party on Wednesday, December 20th @ 6 PM. RSVP to Julia for more information.
Discussion
All Electric Houses: In our discussion of all electric houses we talked about how houses with all electric heating and appliances can be safer (because they have no easily combustible fuels), healthier (no sources of carbon monoxide or other gasses given off from burning fossil fuels) and in many cases cost effective. Earlier this year, the All Electric Buildings Act was enacted in New York. Among other things, this law means that new residential homes in New York built after January 1, 2026, will need to be free of fossil fuels. This represents a big opportunity for the building industry.
One Last Thing
A documentary about local farmers, Muckville, was screened at the Greenwood Lake Senior Center. Several SW members attended and found it moving. We’ll look for an opportunity to screen the documentary again, perhaps at the library. If you'd like to be involved contact the Steering Committee.