April 2024
Sustainable Warwick Minutes
April 17, 2024
Meeting chair: Michael Helme
Reports From Ongoing Projects
Pollinator Pathway: Sally reported on a committee meeting last Saturday at Mountain Lakes Park that included 7 Girl Scouts and their parents. The Girl Scouts, who are in elementary school, will be helping Town Recreation Director Sam Walter with plantings by one border of the lake to deter geese from making a mess on parts of the surrounding beach that are used for weddings and other gatherings. Our committee will be creating a “landing zone” under a clump of native trees that are near the pickleball courts; this means adding ground cover and other understory plants to create a habitat for the insects that rely on the native trees. Volunteers are encouraged to join this effort.
Our beautiful “Welcome Pollinators/Pesticide-Free Zone” signs are selling well. Join us at TreeCycle on Saturday, April 20th, to get yours, or contact us via email. pollinators@sustainablewarwick.org Price: $15
Please join us at 1 PM on Sunday, April 28th at Albert Wisner Public Library, to watch Beauty on the Wing: Life Story of the Monarch Butterfly. The documentarian will join us after the showing to answer questions. Register in advance to be sure you (and your friends) get a seat.
Our Pollinator Pathway Committee also hosted an informative webinar Reducing Pesticide Use with Integrated Pest Management, presented by Susan Ndiaye of Cornell Cooperative Extension.
Treecycle: Treecycle is this Saturday, April 20th at Stanley-Deming Park from 1 to 6 pm. Many of our committees will be sharing a table and information about our activities. It’s a great community event. Please encourage friends and neighbors to attend.
Green Calendar: The Earth to Warwick Green Calendar has seen lots of page visits. Be sure to bookmark that webpage and refer to it often.
Coolest Recycling Drive: The Coolest Recycling Drive makes it free and easy to properly recycle refrigerant-containing appliances. This year we have expanded to include a new drop-off event in Chester, in addition to events at Warwick DPW and in Greenwood Lake and Florida. This year’s event is being supported by Hudson Technologies, which will be doing the refrigerant recovery at no charge. This has made it possible for Sustainable Hudson Valley to also hold drop-off events in Kingston and New Paltz. Check out the full schedule for the Coolest Recycling Drive on our website. And if you are available to volunteer, we could use extra hands. cleanenergy@sustainablewarwick.org
Transformation Trails: The Transformation Trails group will begin an occultation process soon. This involves laying down fabric to kill weeds over the summer, then amending the soil and eventually planting as a pollinator meadow with native flowers. Development plans include STEAM learning sites, an arboretum, sculpture and even an amphitheater. The Sustainable Warwick $8K fundraiser to support Transformation Trails is just $325 in new donations from being complete.
Green Screen: All candidates for the upcoming School Board Elections must be registered by April 22nd. Christina will check with the School Board on April 23rd and share the names. The Green Screen committee is currently working on screening questions and is open to suggestions.
Helpsy: There is a new Helpsy box installed in Warwick at the police station. Helpsy shreds unusable clothing and reuses everything else. It will also pay the Town 2 cents/pound for all donated items.
Food Scraps Collection: We continue to collect food scraps at Price Chopper on Sundays from 10 AM to 12 Noon and will move to the WV Farmers Market on May 12th. The winter season was successful with an average of 16 citizens bringing compost every week. The summer rate is much higher, but keeping this going through the winter was a great success. Volunteers are always appreciated, it's a fun and rewarding way to spend a couple of hours on a Sunday! Reach out to Christy.garden@sustainablewarwick.org
Community Garden: Our Community Garden is in its 15th year and going strong. Congratulations!
Sustainable World Book Club: Our April book, An Immense World, by Ed Yong, was about how animals perceive things (smell, sight, taste) and how their senses work quite differently from ours. At our next meeting (May 14th at 3 PM), we’ll discuss The Persuaders by Anand Giridharadas. Copies are available at the library. Everyone is welcome to join the discussion. Contact BookClub@sustainablewarwick.org for more information.
Zoom Garden Plot: Zoom Garden Plot has started its fifth season and will meet again on Monday, April 22nd, at 7:30. If you would like to get the meeting invitation, contact garden@sustainablewarwick.org.
Our next meeting will be on May 15th at 7.30pm via Zoom.
Please keep in touch and share your thoughts about Earth Day!