Lend Your Talents

Do you care about the environment but toil in your apartment focused on peak oil and melting glaciers rather than taking action? Then this communication is for you, potential superhero...

"Most people don’t know that the nation’s largest and best known environmental organization has a local volunteer group. With the advantage of national Sierra Club’s excellent reputation and capacity, the NYC volunteer group has long had the opportunity to be a leading voice for green activism in one of the world’s cultural and media capitals. Unfortunately, that potential has been unrealized, although the need for that activism has never been greater.

The NYC group, one of 11 eleven volunteer groups in Sierra Club’s New York State Chapter, is governed by an Executive Committee, elected by the 10,000 Club members living in NYC. Because the activities of the NYC group have been so limited, hardly any Sierra Club members pay any attention to it. Two years ago, only 100 members voted. Because participation in Executive Committee elections is so low, Executive Committee members have been able to remain in office indefinitely, without any scrutiny of their record.

You can make a more active Executive Committee a reality – today. A group of enthusiastic new Sierra Club NYC volunteers have launched multiple new programs to catalyze a big jump in the City’s sustainability. We’re dedicated to using the power of the Sierra Club to get New Yorkers involved. We’re partnering with the City to paint the roofs of buildings white, which cuts air conditioning bills and carbon emissions at the same time. We’re recruiting volunteers to paint the roofs of nonprofit buildings and find nonprofits who want to get their roofs painted. We’re setting up neighborhood sustainability events to link residents with green programs that can benefit them. We’re organizing oil spill response forums, collaborating with MoveOn and the New School. You can read the full plan at http://www.nyc.sierraclub.org/pdf/SC%20NYC%20Newsletter%205-07-105.pdf."

For more information, or to get involved, please contact Dan Miner at 917.319.2924 or beyondoilnyc@yahoo.com.

From artist Chrisina Kelly who is working on a project called Maize Field you might have stumbled upon in BK...

"This summer I'm growing blue corn in two areas of Brooklyn as part of a public art project called Maize Field. The gardens are located in Boerum Hill and Canarsie. I hope you'll have a chance to visit them over the course of the growing season.

Each garden is located in an area that was documented as Indian maizeland in the 17th century. They are traditional three sisters gardens (corn, beans and squash) using crop varieties that are part of the heritage of the Lenape and Haudenosaunee from this region. The gardens are a meditation of the change and displacements that have been a part of New York's history. The project participates in the continual change that defines the city by highlighting a historical past then integrating that history back into the present landscape.

You can learn more about the project on my website and follow the gardens on my blog.I hope you'll enjoy watching the corn grow."

Visit the site.

Visit the blog.

Shop Seventh blog launches

This week, the Park Slope Chamber of Commerce launched a new blog site called "Shop Seventh" (shopseventh.com or parkslopechamber.com). The site will be regularly updated with the latest news and events taking place in the stores, bars and restaurants along 7th Avenue. We're always happy to see a local economy thriving. It's a win-win to support your local boutique which probably features stuff made by locals vs. say Big Box store XYZ.

What else is there to say?

visit the blog.

Calculator to Test Out

One Green Team member just read a New Yorker about the guy behind this great tool. Give it a whirl...WattzOn is a free online tool to quantify, track, compare and understand the total amount of energy needed to support all of the facets of your lifestyle with the goal of helping you find ways to reduce your personal power consumption.

Learn More.

check out their blog.

from our friends at GCC...

The Gowanus Canal Conservancy join forces with the Brooklyn Botanic Garden to beautify the Gowanus!

11am - 2pm on June 26th at the Gowanus Canal, 2nd Ave between 5th St & the Canal.

We'll be constructing a compost bin and holding a composting workshop and education seminar in partnership with the Brooklyn Botanic Garden. We will also be planting trees, shrubs and flower beds as well as mulching, weeding, removing trash and debris, relocating, preparing and maintaining Conservancy nursery plants and finally, installing bird houses.

To volunteer for the June 26th event please email: volunteer@gowanuscanalconservancy.org or call us at (718) 541-4378. Volunteers under age 18 must have a parent or guardian on site to sign a release and available to supervise them (please call if you need more information).

Learn more.

Planet Connections Theatre Fest

Thank you for those who came out on Saturday for our Extravaganza. Our partner was Planet Connections and they are doing a month-long theatre fest. Tickets are $18 and performances are in three theaters downtown.

We like them because they are NY's premiere eco-friendly theatre fest, striving to help the environment in any way they can. Each production is challenged to make their shows greener in at least one way - from marketing techniques, costume or set design, or the rehearsal process. Each production partners with a nonprofit of their choice so they are shedding light on what's out there that people should get involved in. Some of the plays are about the environment but many aren't. Anyway, a good excuse to go out and see some theatre.

Learn More.

Dispatches from the PS 295 Edible School Garden

Fresh off our Urban Garden Challenge, we thought this project was worth following...

At PS 295 The Studio School of Art and Culture in BK, they are building an edible garden! Garden education is so important for kids, particularly in an urban environment where they are often disconnected from the food they eat.

The school’s librarian, Susan Weseen, is spearheading several initiatives to educate all students at the school about gardening and the importance of knowing where nutritious food comes from. Through Ms. Weseen’s efforts, PS 295 was recently adopted by Slow Food NYC to participate in their Harvest Time Program, which provides schools with financial assistance to support good food education.

Beginning June 5th, PS 295 will be building 10 raised garden beds in the schoolyard and creating a mobile kitchen cart that will enable students to plan, grow, harvest and cook the food and herbs they’ve grown. In addition, she continues to co-facilitate a gardening class in the school’s after school program, which has planted and tended to two local community gardens, and was instrumental in planning an upcoming visit from Truck Farm, a Wicked Delicate Film and Food Project.

Slow Food NYC connected Ms. Weseen with Hans Hesselein, a Park Slope-based landscape architect who designed the garden beds.

Ms. Weseen, Gardening students, and volunteers including parents and members of Slow Food NYC began building out the raised beds on Saturday, June 5th. Compost will be delivered later in the month and starting in the last few weeks of school, students will begin planting the first crops including lettuce, cucumbers, tomatoes, nasturtiums, cilantro, swiss chard, peppers, and basil.

All students at PS 295 who have been involved with gardening over the past four years will be meeting with the filmmakers and will then share their experience with the rest of the school later this year.

This Saturday Come Find Us...

The Know Your Sustainable Community Extravaganza

We've teamed up with Planet Connections Theater Fest to host this green-themed carnival that is free and open to the public.

details:
JUNE 12
12pm (get there on time - it's not an all day event!)
440 Lafayette in the Robert Moss Theatre

This promises to be a fun event with groups such as GrowNYC, South Street Seaport, GRACE, Louisa Shafia, author of Lucid Food, a green photo booth, raffle and more! If you are interested in attending this FREE event please RSVP to planetevents2010@gmail.com or RSVP on facebook HERE!

Support the Guys Who Collect Your Food Scraps!

Celebration by the East River
with the Lower East Side Ecology Center
Saturday June 5, 2010 5-8PM
East River Park Amphitheater

Activities for the whole family & silent auction
Master of Ceremonies Reverend Billy Talen
Live music by the Rude Mechanical Orchestra

Honoring:
Charlie Bayrer, Earth Matter NY, Inc.
Bill de Blasio, NYC Public Advocate
Jennifer London, Xoom
Kate Sinding, Natural Resources Defense Council

the Amphitheater, located at the southernmost
part of East River Park, across the FDR Drive from Corlear's Hook Park
at the intersection of Jackson and Cherry Streets.

In case of rain, Celebration by the East River will be at
Fontana's, 105 Eldridge Street, and we will
announce the change of venue on our website.

For more information please contact:
info@lesecologycenter.org or 212.477.4022

News Round-up

Creating a Plan to Connect New Yorkers and their Harbor [Gotham Gazette]

Can the City—and the Oyster—Save Jamaica Bay? [Gotham Gazette]

Pharmaceuticals in the Water Supply [Report-- The New York City Department of Environmental Protection]

Air Quality [Ranking-- American Lung Association]

Health Commissioner Now Bikes to Work [Daily News]

Older Downstate Pedestrians at Risk [Report--Tri-State Transportation Campaign]

Rooftop Farm Gets OK [Wall Street Journal]

Lights Kept on in Closed Subway Stations [am New York]

Cleaning New York’s Soot-Spewing Buildings [Gotham Gazette]

City Halts Rooftop Farm in Queens [NY Times]

Manufacturing Jobs on the Rise [Wall Street Journal]

EPA Ripped Over Schools PCB Testing [Daily News]

Study Says Gowanus Cleanup Could Lead to New Housing [NY Post]

City Garbage Gridlock Plan Falls Short of Goals [Gotham Gazette]

Compiled by Rebeccah Welch