A roundtable discussion with experienced composters including Susan DeGeorge, a backyard composter, Els van den Bosch, a participant in Roots & Wings’ community composting, and Sophia Macaluso of Hudson Compost Services, a new curbside food scraps pickup biz.
There will be plenty of time for Q&A so you leave empowered to keep your food scraps out of the landfill and return nutrients to the soil.
Arrive at 6:45 behind South Church for a demo of Roots & Wings 3-bin system that's used by dozens of people including members of Roots & Wings CSA. Bring (a small amount of) food scraps and see what happens next!
This roundtable is sponsored by Sustainable Dobbs and Hudson Compost Services. Rumor has it that Kathy Dean is baking some yummy bread! Questions? You can reach Roots & Wings at info@RivertownsCommunityGardens.
Roots & Wings celebrates 10 years in 2021~ ! We celebrate our Kitchen Garden - a group that gardens together each Saturday morning and donates hundreds of pounds of fresh produce to the Dobbs Ferry Food Pantry each summer, our active CSA with FABLE: From Farm to Table, and our labyrinth now reconceived as a spiral of healing herbs.
Over the years we have hosted film series and book groups, roundtable discussions with local farmers and suburban chicken owners and bee keepers, Rivertowns Permaculture - a certification class, bread and soap and sauce making classes, gardening and composting workshops, potlucks, presentations by a Native elder, a local young woman who walks to draw attention to environmental issues, gardeners who are creating stops on the pollinator pathway and so much more.
Our vision is to live more sustainable and full lives through connection with one another and the earth.
COLLABORATORS WANTED for these teams:
CSA outreach
Social media
Programming (organizing workshops, garden tours, films ... )
Your health is in your hands! Learn simple natural approaches to support your health and immune system so you are in your best shape for the fall and winter seasons.
Fire Cider, Fungi, Fruits & Ferments
Simple, natural approaches to support your health and immune system
A conversation with clinical herbalist Gabriela Munoz
Gabriela Munoz, a Dobbs Ferry resident and member of Roots & Wings steering committee, is a clinical herbalist with certification from the ArborVitae School of Traditional Herbalism.
She is also trained as a chemist and soil scientist, with degrees from University of Buenos Aires and University of Wisconsin. This background opened her eyes to what she describes as an empowering view of health.
"Most traditional and alternative approaches focus on life-sustaining practices that can actually improve our health and better equip us to cope with disease. When we take care of our bodies, we are less prone to getting sick, whether by germs or other causes. It's all about a harmonious relationship with the world around us.
The one-hour program offers simple steps you can take to improve your overall health and resiliency through lifestyle choices including your activities and routines, sleep patterns and emotional landscape. Gabriela will also share recipes for foods and herbal preparations we can make at home that are allies insupporting our health, such as broths, syrups, vinegars, infusions and fermented foods.
“Every day we have the opportunity to make better choices to improve our health and vitality,” said Gabriela. “Our bodies always strive for health and have an amazing capability to heal if we work with nature and nourish and care for ourselves.”
The film is a story of real-world heroes—an 8-year old Girl Scout, a regenerative urban farmer, and a visionary inventor— and the challenges they face as they fight to heal our broken food system and regenerate the planet’s soils. MORE
Guest speakers from Roots & Wings Kitchen Garden and CSA, the Dobbs Ferry Food Pantry, Spring Community Partners and Sustainable Dobbs shared their work as we looked ways to collaborate for a common goal.
Get a little guidance on figuring out what native perennials are right for you!
Below is a Zoom chat with horticulturist Peter Strom, owner of Strom Horticulture LLC and known for his work at the O'Hara Nature Center in Irvington. He spoke about the plants on native plant plugs bulk buy that is being organized (see list below - more info in blog), what experience he has had growing them and answered specific questions.
I'll purchase a flat of 50 or more plugs once there's a critical mass of committed gardeners for each variety. In a few cases, potted plant purchases may become a smarter choice for specific varieties, TBD. Shipments will most likely occur between early-May and mid-July to coincide with plant maturity and availability from the wholesaler. For preliminary cost references, Asclepias Tuberosa (Butterfly Milkweed) is around ~$1.40/plug where as Mertensia Virginica (Virginia bluebells) is around $4.40/plug, not including shipping.
With respect to logistics and social distancing: if we do place an order, I strongly prefer repayment through PAYPAL or VEMNO with cash/check only as a last resort. Plug pickups will be left on our walkway within a prearranged 30-minute window with 30-minute buffers between each pickup, no exceptions. Thank you for your understanding.
What's next? Email me your variety and quantity commitments as well as any questions you have. Hurry though, I would like to place our first order May 5th! I will follow up with additional communications with order, shipment, and repayment details as folks sign-up.
