Resources

Since Sustainable Warwick’s inception in 2006, we have positioned ourselves as the sustainable resource for the town of Warwick, Orange County, New York State, and beyond. Our membership includes passionate professionals, experts, and volunteers with so much to give that many turn to us for answers about environmental challenges faced in our area. This page is a continuation of that, a place where we continue to collect important resources to share with those who need help finding all of the incredible work that is already being done and learn more about all that we can do still.

What is Climate Change?

It’s clear that immediate action is required to put the brakes on climate change. Read this article by our own Dr. William Makofske, Professor Emeritus of Physics (Ramapo College of NJ)

Featured Information

Waste Prevention, Reuse & Recycling In Orange County, a presentation by Sustainable Warwick in partnership with Orange County, NY.

Composting

The Village of Warwick’s Community Composting Program was launched in 2013, in partnership with the Village of Warwick Department of Public Works. Under the program, the DPW uses a “recipe” provided by knowledgeable SW composters and with readily-available “ingredients” such as – leaves, grass clippings, along with composted manure that they pick up from Warwick area farms, to produce high quality compost and mulch that is available without charge to Warwick residents. The pile is located in Veterans Memorial Park, along the driveway that leads to the DPW shed. Some people back their pickup truck in and get several loads a week. There's lots of it there. For more information contact the DPW.

In 2022, SW’s Food Scraps to Compost pilot program was started, collecting food scraps from town residents every Sunday at the Warwick Valley Farmers Market. This program has been very well received. To read more about it, visit their webpage. If you would like more information about this program or how to compost at home, please drop us a line. An experienced composter will help you!

Farmer’s Markets, CSAs, and Gardening

There are many local farmer’s markets, farm stands and CSAs in and around Warwick. Support your local farmers and enjoy the delicious fruits of their labor!

Local Growers Guide : Interactive map and list will help you find local produce, dairy, meats and more. Let’s support our local farmers!

Zoom Garden Plot is an online gathering that has grown out of the desire to connect with other gardeners during the pandemic. They share ideas, questions and the green thumbs in the group provide answers and guidance. Join us, alternate Monday evenings at 8:00. More information here.

Grow Local Greenwood Lake’s mission is to create a sustainable, resilient, local food system to enhance the environmental and social health of Greenwood Lake and the surrounding community. They seek to provide access to local, fresh, affordable, healthy food via yards, community gardens, farms, restaurants, and stores where production, distribution, and consumption are integrated locally. 

Midsummer Farms is an organic, biodynamic, and sustainable farm offering a wide variety of goods and services from food and native plants, to workshops and trainings to salves and herbal remedies. They are a tremendous resource for our area and worth a visit!

Appleseed Permaculture

Golben Farms

Hopeful Roots

Energy Efficiency at Home

Climate Change Webinar: SW presented a webinar called Climate Change: Meaningful Solutions at Home and in Your Community on Oct. 18, 2021. The video of the webinar offers many affordable, specific suggestions on making your home more efficient (and comfortable), choosing renewables, and joining with others in making changes.

Energize Warwick is a decade-long campaign by Sustainable Warwick to educate and help Warwick residents and businesses take advantage of the NY State program. You get a professional audit for your house or business at no or low cost and you may qualify for assistance in paying for the suggested repairs and insulation for your home.

Community Solar: In New York we are blessed with two different community solar options that don’t require your roof! Your electricity could be supplied by solar fields located in the Orange & Rockland service area. To our knowledge, SunCommon is the only company in our area that sometimes offers a purchase agreement for community solar, with investment considerations and similar great savings to those that would come with a rooftop unit. Several other community solar companies offer a no-money-down program that offers 10% savings on your electric charges. As of July 2020, Solstice offers the best sign-up bonus that we are aware of for becoming their community solar customer, but the size of the bonus is subject to change and other companies may start offering bonuses. We encourage new customers to research at least two or three of these companies before signing up, and we would appreciate hearing from community solar companies with better offers for us to recommend.

Heat Pumps: Alpine Air Heating and Air Conditioning has been proudly serving the Orange County area and beyond since 2005.  They have experience in both residential and commercial installations, service, and sales regarding all aspects of heating, ventilation, and air conditioning. They specialize in energy efficient heat pump technologies like geothermal and ductless systems.

Project Drawdown “has developed realistic, solution-specific models, technical assessments, and policy memos projecting the financial and climate impacts of existing solutions deployed at scale over the next thirty years.” Here is what they have to say about Heat Pumps.

Land Preservation

Community Preservation Fund (CPF): When a house or land is sold in Warwick, the buyer pays a small fee, generally less than the amount charged for title fees in a mortgage’s closing costs. The seller pays nothing. This fee is added to a dedicated escrow fund that can only be used for projects identified in the Community Preservation Plan to preserve the community character of Warwick.

Orange County Land Trust: The Orange County Land Trust, accredited by the Land Trust Accreditation Commission in 2013, has helped protect over 6,000 acres of land through the negotiation of conservation agreements with private land owners, property donations, and the acquisition of private property.

PDR—Purchase of Development Rights: PDR has improved our communities. This $9.5 million bond issue was embraced by the voters of Warwick in 2000 to save farmland through the voluntary purchase of the development rights of farm properties and open space: the land remains farmland in perpetuity, farmers receive monies which enable them to modernize their operations, and they don’t feel it’s necessary to sell to developers to make ends meet. View a map of Warwick’s PDR-protected farmland.

Media We Recommend

There’s a whole lot of great information out there. Be armed when you venture out into the fray! Here’s a sampling of the media that we can recommend: Books, Movies, and Websites.

Safe Products for you and your home

Thousands of chemicals are released into our environment. Contrary to what you might think, many are not tested or are tested for only a short time. As consumers, we need to be aware of this and try to avoid hazardous chemicals. Here are some helpful websites: Choose Safe Products

The infovillage began as a collection of organizations in attendance at Earth Fest, Warwick in 2019 invited by Sustainable Warwick. The aim then was to share with the community the tremendously important work that others are doing to protect and regenerate our ecosystem. There we brought leaders together to meet with the public and engage in meaningful conversation about their passion projects and how sustainability is a growing part of that.

2019 Participants: Citizens' Climate Lobby, SunCommon, Long Meadow School, Warwick Valley Community Center/3 Pines, Energize NY, Heat Smart Warwick, Orange County Land Trust, and Orange County Audubon Society.