So Long from Brooklyn Green Team

Dear all-

It is with some sadness, but also optimism, that we write, fellow superheroes, to let you know about a big decision. Us 5 superheroes have decided that we aren’t able to devote the necessary resources, nay, superpowers to keep the Brooklyn Green Team at a level of activity and progress we can be proud of. We've accomplished so much over the years with your help but as of late for various personal reasons and professional obligations have slipped in our level of activity. (Please don't think it means we don't care about the environment: we work with our students, we spend more time volunteering outside, we contribute time and resources to community gardens etc.)

Brooklyn Green Team is such a great project – and provides such useful information for Brooklynites – that we want to keep it alive. We’re looking for new superheroes to take the reins. Would you or someone you know be interested in spearheading Brooklyn Green Team (at least our blog) and taking it to greater, new heights?

If so, please send sharkgirl65@gmail.com an email and let's get a conversation started.

Cool Roof Kick-Off Party

We love these guys. Painting a roof white is a great way to reduce energy and the urban heat effect. They're kicking off a new season of, you guessed it, painting roofs.


Monday, May 23rd at 7:00pm for White Roof's 2011 Summer Kick-start party.

Just $20 gets you admission, complementary hors d'oeuvres, drink specials and environmentally friendly goodies. Plus, you'll be helping with White Roof Project make our city cooler this summer.

Details are HERE!

For the May Gardener...

May is a frantic month in northern hemisphere gardens. Warm climates change rapidly to hot climates. Colder gardens suddenly appear out of nowhere and demand attention. You may not need a list of what to do in the garden in May, because it is staring you in the face every time you walk through your garden. But here are some reminders of what you can do. Don’t panic. The season is just beginning.

Vegetables

• Keep harvesting cool season crops like asparagus, peas, and spring lettuce
• Seed cool season vegetables and root crops after mid-month (beets, beans, cabbage, carrots, chard, lettuce, onions, potatoes, radishes, turnips...)
• Start warm season melons and squash indoors, to transplant after Memorial Day, when the squash borer has moved on
• Keep seeding lettuce. Start seeding squash, cucs and beans
• Hold the heat lovers like tomatoes and peppers until the end of the month

Flowers

• Finish seeding annuals
• Resist the temptation to put out heat lovers until the end of the month, when night time temps remain above 50 degrees F.
• Deadhead and begin replacing pansies and primroses as the blossoms fade
• Summer bulbs can be planted
• Plant new roses. Prune one-time blooming roses as they faded and feed.
• Give fall bloomers like asters and mums, a first pinching

Trees & Shrubs

• Plant or transplant trees and shrubs before the heat of summer.
• Prune forsythia, viburnums and other spring blooming shrubs, before they set next year’s buds.
• Cut older branches back to ground level to encourage new flowering branches.
• Prune Clematis montana hybrids after blooming to control size and shape.

source: About.com

Envirosax

We tested out the latest line of Envirosax.  As you can see, the new line is super cute - they have lots of great patterns and they participate in 1% of the planet which is cool.  The downside to the totes is that they don't have a structured bottom so your stuff can sometimes wind up in one big jumble.

Also, if you need to buy a tote bag (don't we all have about 50 by now?), you might look for one that's made from recycled materials (Envirosax are made from polyester).  Though it looks like now the company has a new organic series which is cool.

The takeaway? Don't use plastic bags! Keep a tote on you at all times (these handy devils fold up in your bag and they're cute!)

Into The Cold

One of us Green Team members had a chance to screen Sebastian Copeland's film Into The Cold.  

In a nutshell, the film follows adventurers Sebastian Copeland and Keith Heger through intensive physical training before embarking on a harrowing journey to the North Pole, the first HD documentary showcasing such footage. From personal reflections to last minute preparations, the story shifts when the two men are dropped onto the ice and faced with temperatures in excess of -50F degrees.  


This Green Team member liked it.  It certainly called attention to the dire state of the planet but in a way distinct from the onslaught of enviro docs.  The footage and the experience of the two hikers told the story of the environmental impact playing out in the arctic.  Worth watching for the incredible scenery, watching the remarkable feat of Sebastian and Keith unfold, and for a reminder we all need that everything is, indeed, connected. 


Film comes out on April 19. 


Find out more about Into the Cold. 

Interview with Miss Teen Earth NYC

Q: How did you come to be Miss Teen Earth NYC?


A: I will be competing for Miss Teen Earth New York in the summer and hopefully moving on to Miss Teen Earth United States. I have been doing pageantry since I was seven and was really drawn to this pageant because of its focus "beauties for a cause". Besides the evening wear, swim suit, and interview competition, it is about giving back and getting involved with environmental issues.

 

Q: Tell us a Little About Yourself

A: I am 18 years old born and raised in New York. I was just featured in Supermodels Unlimited Magazine Most Beautiful Edition and took part in their runway show as well as shooting for their summer issue. I go to the Fashion Institute of Technology for Fashion Design. I do custom designs for proms, pageants, christenings, and am an intern for designer Rolando Santana. In high school I went to a fashion program half a day everyday and at the end of the year we put on a fashion show. One of our show themes was Go-Green and this is where my interest in sustainability in fashion began.  

Q: Within the issues of environment, what are you most passionate about? 

A: Wasted Wonders is a program that I have started and you can say that is my platform. It is broken down to three categories 1)Fashion  2)Beauty  3) Crafts. This program is about spreading the word of "going green" in our everyday lives but it focus' a lot on children and how they can help.  The program is set up for going to schools in NYC and doing projects from one of the three categories. Fashion: men's shirts into skirts, t-shirts into reusable grocery bags, Jewelry and bags from scrap fabric or clothing, etc., and using sustainable fabrics or fabrics with finishings that are better for the environment. Beauty: Making lotions, face masks, makeup, ect. out of organic and natural materials. Crafts: Banks out of bottles, picture frames from cd cases, snack boxes from milk and juice cartons,  etc. 

Q: What are You Doing Locally to Make a Difference? 

A: Besides Wasted Wonder, I also volunteer at Prospect Park for nature crafts with kids and have started a charity project/event called Runway To Recovery which I try and keeps as "green" as possible by selling tickets and sending information through the internet so we can cut down on paper and using scrap fabrics from my school's fabric lab and left overs from fabric stores. I also joined the sustainability club in my college so that I can learn more about this as well. I am also in the process of getting delis and bagel stores to send food over to homeless shelters that I would help them in deliver. My priority is to put use to what is being wasted in many different ways. I am always up for new projects and appearances in order to help out.

Q: What Can Any New Yorker Do themselves to Create a Better Environment? 

A: It is so easy to create a healthier environment and there are a million ways to do it. Recycle! It is easy and can make a huge difference. Use what you already have there is no need to create waste. In regards to my project Wasted Wonders, there is so much you can do, like making your own laundry detergent, make a reusable grocery bag so you can cut down on plastic bags,  decorating your room or your child's, or siblings with green crafts they are fun and easy and even better than that hand made and personalized. Everybody has a different lifestyle and can research ways be a part of this "green" movement in their everyday lives.

Thanks Brandi!

REMINDER: Green Team party this THURSDAY

BROOKLYN GREEN TEAM 4TH ANNIVERSARY PARTY: Trim Your Waste-Line

Thursday March 24

7pm

Lowlands

Hosted by: Brooklyn Green Team and Brooklyn Green Drinks

Benefitting: GrowNYC for their efforts to help New Yorkers reduce waste through a variety of resources including textile recycling, composting and more.

Silent auction, DJ, Organic Wine and Beer specials and a special cocktail in honor of the celebration.

Bring cash or a check to bid on silent auction items in support of GrowNYC!  Thank you Loomstate, San Vision Energy Technology, Brooklyn Tattoo, Ciao For Now, World Music Institute, Brooklyn Strength, Bad Ass Organics, Kaight, MODO Eyewear, Brucie, Dvir Salon, Laurence King Publishing and Vanessa Knight.

Get Dirty NYC!

Ever feel like you want to contribute but can't commit the time to stay with one group.  A new group is making that easier and the timing couldn't be better: spring!

Get Dirty NYC! is connecting new yorkers to green up projects be it urban farm or community garden.

Learn more about them.

Brooklyn Green Team 4th Anniversary Party: March 24

Trim Your Waste-Line!
Find out about local resources that will help you divert as much as possible from the landfill.


Hosted by: Brooklyn Green Team and Brooklyn Green Drinks


Benefitting: GrowNYC for their efforts to help New Yorkers reduce waste through a variety of resources including textile recycling, composting and more.


Thursday March 24
7pm
Lowlands


Silent auction, DJ, Organic Wine and Beer specials and a special cocktail in honor of the celebration.


Bring cash or a check to bid on silent auction items in support of GrowNYC!  Thank you Loomstate, San Vision Energy Technology, Brooklyn Tattoo, World Music Institute, Brooklyn Strength, Bad Ass Organics, Kaight, MODO Eyewear, Brucie, Dvir Salon, Laurence King Publishing and Vanessa Knight.

This Video is Awesome and Hilarious!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GLgh9h2ePYw

Enviro. Photo Exhibit featuring 5th Graders!

Essie Green Galleries will be exhibiting the photographs of 18 fifth graders from Manhattan Country School in New York City and 12 fifth graders from Children's Hope India in Gujarat, India. The students participated in a 10-week sustainable photography exchange between New York and India. As part of their unit on sustainability, students collected and studied more than 200 pictures on how they use water, food, energy and plastic.

MCS' fifth grade class will be on hand to discuss the experience and what they've learned about natural resources and its availability internationally, nationally and domestically.

Sustainable Photography Exhibit
Saturday, March 12, 3:30-5:30 p.m.
Essie Green Galleries , 419A Convent Ave., New York, NY 10031

Free and open to the public. Light refreshments.

www.essiegreengalleries.com

COMPOST Just Got Easier!

Hooray!!! Thanks to a pilot program operated by GrowNYC and with funding from the NYC Council and Speaker Quinn, starting MARCH 5, BK residents will be able to drop their compost off at Grand Army Plaza, Brooklyn Borough Hall and McCarren Park.

Ft. Greene Greenmarket
Washington Park b/t DeKalb & Willoughby, Brooklyn
Saturdays, 8:30am-12pm
year-round, currently accepting scraps--hours expanding March 5 (see below)
Project managed by the Ft. Greene Compost Project since Oct 2005.

McCarren Park Greenmarket
Saturdays, 8am-2pm
Union Ave b/t Driggs & N 12th St

Grand Army Plaza Greenmarket
Saturdays, 8am-4pm
Prospect Park West & Flatbush Ave, NW corner of Prospect Park

Ft. Greene Greenmarket
Saturdays, 8am-3pm
Washington Park b/t DeKalb & Willoughby
currently accepting scraps at this site from 8:30am-12pm--hours extend beginning March 5

Brooklyn Borough Hall Greenmarket
Saturdays, 8am-5pm
Plaza at the intersection of Court & Montague

learn about what to drop here.

Think Spring and Sharpen Your Gardening Skills

Sustainable Flatbush is hosting...

GREENING FLATBUSH 2011
Spring is just around the corner!

Join us for a fun-filled & information-packed afternoon. Meet your neighbors and get your hands dirty. Come out for demonstrations and hands-on workshops on a variety of gardening and urban agriculture topics, including:

* gardening for kids
* starting seeds indoors
* growing mushrooms in your apartment
* vertical gardening
* composting with worms indoors
* how to join the Flatbush Farm Share CSA
* how to care for street trees
… and much more!

We will also have an information table featuring sustainability education opportunities specifically for youth.

Snacks and coffee will be available. Bring your own mug (BYOM)!

Sunday, February 27, 2011
2:00pm – 5:00 pm
Flatbush YMCA, 2nd floor activity room
1401 Flatbush Avenue (at Rogers Avenue)

$5 suggested donation. Space is limited, please pre-register HERE

Design Your Own Gowanus

Connections: The Gowanus Lowline is design ideas competition for the Gowanus Canal area in Brooklyn, NY organized by Gowanus by Design (GbD) and sponsored by the Gowanus Canal Community Development Corporation. It invites open speculation on the value of urban development of post-industrial lands, and the possibility of dynamic, pedestrian-oriented architecture that either passively or actively engages with the Canal and the surrounding watershed.

One of GbD’s goals is to generate a discourse about urban issues that are currently relevant to the local community. The competition is designed to generate a spectrum of possible solutions and the jury will look for designers to explore their own design sensibilities while tackling complex urban challenges specific to the canal.

GbD is proud to present an internationally renowned jury of industry professionals and experts in the areas of architecture, sustainable design, landscape design and community development:

Julie Bargmann, Founding Principal, D.I.R.T. Studio
David J. Lewis, Principal, LTL Architects
Gregg Pasquarelli, Founding Principal, SHoP Architects
Richard Plunz, Director, Urban Design Lab, Columbia GSAPP
Andrew Simons, Chairman, Gowanus Canal Conservancy
Joel Towers, Dean, Parsons The New School of Design

Our organization proposes a new strategy going forward for the development of the Gowanus area, showcasing different options for the canal and including the many voices of canal stakeholders. GbD will propose projects that speculate upon the potential for what the canal can be and will track the coordination of clean-up and development efforts between the many city agencies whose decisions impact those of us who live and work near the canal.

learn more.

Citywide School Garden Initiative Launches

Growtolearn.org is now the place to go if you're part of a NYC school interested in establishing, maintaining and programming a school garden. Spearheaded by GrowNYC and the Mayor's Fund along with several other partners, the initiative serves as a one-stop shop, making it easier for schools to get the info they need. Check it out!

E-Waste Recycling: Get It While It's Cold

Electronics Recycling Collections
Responsibly recycle unwanted or broken electronics at one of these upcoming events (no appliances such as microwaves or refrigerators). Find a list of acceptable materials here. Sponsored by the Lower East Side Ecology Center.

MANHATTAN

Tekserve: Saturday, January 15, 10am-4pm
119 West 23rd St. b/t 6th & 7th Aves

BROOKLYN

Prospect Park: Sunday, January 16, 10am-4pm
Prospect Park West and 3rd Street

Ft. Greene: Saturday, January 22, 10am-4pm
Fulton Street b/t S. Portland Ave & S. Oxford St

The Vote is In on Your Xmas Tree

Real Trees are better for the environment (even when you cut them down and prop them up in your living room) than the fake stuff. We figured, but hear it from the Times.

Read all about it.

Think Outside of the Gift Box this Holiday Season

This particular poster is for Mercy Corps (and came from GOOD), but you get the idea. Support a cause of your loved one. Do so much with your holiday generosity.

Belize Bans Trawling

It's not Brooklyn-centric, but the state of our oceans is one of particular concern to us Green Team members and we all play a part. Every time we order shrimp at a restaurant or at the counter at our overpriced market, we are supporting (usually) the destruction of our oceans. It sounds dramatic, but it's true. Here's some good news though from our friends at Oceana:

All forms of trawling in Belize have been banned in the country’s waters including its exclusive economic zone (EEZ) when Fisheries Minister Rene Montero signed the Statutory Instrument effecting this legislative change today.

The ban, effective December 31, 2010, is a historic decision by Prime Minister Dean Barrow’s administration, which has been making these environmentally friendly decisions on the heel of the threat from UNESCO that it would strip the Belize Barrier Reef System of its World Heritage Site status.

Trawling can be compared to deforestation. It’s a destructive fishing practice where weighted nets are drug across the seafloor, destroying everything in their path - turning vibrant seafloor ecosystems to rubble in an instant and leaving baby fish with nowhere to call home. The reef system which lies in Belizian waters is the largest in the Western Hemisphere (second largest in the world) and is one of the U.N.’s World Heritage Sites.

Here's what you can do: not eat seafood, only eat seafood you get at the farmers market, ask how it was caught, and stop eating things that are trawled (that's the worst).

Whole Foods

Well, Whole Foods is set to open in Gowanus at the end of 2012. Based on urging from passionate Brooklynites, they've made several changes to make the store more friendly and green.

Read all about it.