October 2023
Wednesday, October 18, 2023
Meeting chair: Michael Helme
Our meeting began with a discussion of the challenges and benefits of Electric Vehicles. All aspects were covered from relative costs to charging times. John Purkert made a short presentation (see it here) which outlined the pros and cons. Other SW members shared their experiences.
Project Updates
Transformation Trails at Wickham Woodlands: Bill G announced a tree planting at Wickham Woodlands on November 4th, probably at 10:00 am, but this will be confirmed. Volunteers are needed to help members of the Shade Tree Commission plant the trees; bring shovels and rakes if you have them. The DPW will dig the holes in advance, but soil will need to be moved back. SW has received donations for trees of more than $2,000 and still has $2,000 in unmatched funds awaiting. Hook Magazine has placed a beautiful ad suggesting donations as a holiday gift (check it out on page 27 of this link). One can sponsor a tree by donating $200 or more, and sponsors will be acknowledged on the tags that will give information about the tree type. Seventeen out of the 27 trees to be planted on November 4th are provided by SW, and they will all be native trees. Bill Greene is looking for meadow experts who can advise on preparing the soil then selecting plants and planting the pollinator meadows. Please email us if you can help members of the Shade Tree Commission plant trees in Wickham Woodlands on Saturday, November 4th. SteeringCommittee@sustainablewarwick.org
Food Scraps Collection: Kate reported that the SW table at the Farmers Market has been collecting 8 bins of food scraps (27 gallons each) in recent weeks. Volunteers man the tables and the Village DPW transports the bins to Dan Doyle’s farm. Big thanks to all involved. Kate, Geoff and Christy met with Supervisor Michael Sweeton, Jesse Dwyer, Ben Astorino of Warwick DPW and Ermin Siljkovic, Orange County Recycling Coordinator to discuss a year-round program. The group will also meet with the Village on the same topic. The Town officials were supportive of the idea and could provide a drop-off site and have DPW transport the bins, but volunteers would be needed probably for one morning each week. There is a plan for Orange County to create a year-round composting site in New Hampton that should be active sometime in 2024. Josh told us that Eddie’s Roadhouse is currently contributing around 50 gallons of food scraps per week directly to Dan Doyle’s Farm.
PFAS - Forever Chemicals: Bill and Mary reported on their library presentation about the forever chemicals that are working their way into blood streams near us all. This is a slowly emerging but very important issue that needs attention from two angles – the companies and products that contribute to the pollution and the threat to consumers from drinking and eating contaminated products or even inhaling PFAS-laden dust. For personal safety, the first step to take is to use a reverse osmosis water filter for water intended for drinking and cooking. (Note that one of these filters is less expensive than the cost of testing for PFAS or any of the other myriad chemicals that may be avoided with good quality filtration.) At the presentation, we watched a PBS documentary, The Forever Chemicals, then Bill and Mary presented additional information. You can view their slides here.
Sustainable World Book Club: Christina reported that the author of our last book, The Last Wilderness, did not believe this was a dystopian novel, but club members disagreed! Our next meeting is Tuesday, November 14th at 3.00pm via Zoom. The book for discussion is Fire Weather, A True Story from a Hotter World. Copies are available at the library. Contact BookClub@sustainablewarwick.org for more information.
Zoom Garden Plot: This group has had its final meeting for the year on Zoom on Monday, October 23rd. If you missed it, all ZGP episodes can be found on the SW website.
We will hold our Annual Zero-Waste Holiday Potluck Party on Wednesday, December 20th @ 6 PM. Please RSVP to be included on the guest list. SteeringCommittee@sustainablewarwick.org
Upcoming Event of Interest
Grow Local Greenwood Lake is sponsoring a free screening of "Muckville", about the history and struggles of Chris Pawelski’s family farm. Chris will be there for a Q&A following the film. Thursday, November 9, 2023, 7–9 PM at the GWL Senior Center (132 Windermere Ave, Greenwood Lake, NY 10925). RSVP here. See the trailer by clicking the image below.