National Day of Service: Join the Litter Mob

Monday, September 12th, 2011

September 11 has become a National Day of Service, but if you missed out on volunteering yesterday and/or happen to have free time on a weekday, the Litter Mob will be meeting tomorrow morning to pick up trash in Prospect Park.

Marie notes that it’s also the International Year of the Forests, so why not help out the oldest remaining forest in Brooklyn?

Litter Mob 10
Tuesday, September 13, 9am
Prospect Park (directions and RSVP info)

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Tags: Prospect Park, trash, volunteering
Posted in Community Event, Green |

Flatbush CommUNITY Garden Open House

Wednesday, August 31st, 2011

If you’ve ever walked down near the dead end of Albemarle and wondered about the garden that’s growing there, you’ll have a chance to get a first-hand look at the end of September:

Come drop by the Flatbush CommUNITY Garden Open House! We are located on the corner of Albemarle and Buckingham (E. 16th St) Roads. Learn more about this tiny but mighty public organic garden that’s on private land in Prospect Park South. Come for delicious baked goods, to learn more about our lovely common areas, neighborhood history, and how we built this garden out of an old, rambling foundation.

Flatbush CommUNITY Garden Open House
Sunday, September 25, 11am – 3pm
Corner of Albemarle and Buckingham (E. 16th St) Roads
For more information: flatbushcommunitygarden@gmail.com

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Tags: gardening
Posted in Green |

Join the Litter Mob to Help Clean Hurricane-Damaged Prospect Park

Monday, August 29th, 2011

More branches, fewer condoms!

Marie has been leading the Prospect Park Litter Mob for several trips into the park’s Midwood area, where the group cleans up trash left behind in the notorious rendezvous spot. This week’s scheduled Mob will be out of the Midwood, however, because of a little hurricane action the area saw over the weekend instead.

Since the area is safe for walking around yet (it hasn’t been vetted for loose or falling tree limbs), the group will help with general post-hurricane cleanup tomorrow. The park was hit pretty hard, so they can use all the help they can get!

They will meet at the same location (click here for directions), and you should RSVP to littermob [at] gmail [dot] com if you’ll be able to join them.

Prospect Park Litter Mob
Hurricane Irene Clean-Up
Tuesday, August 30, 9am

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Tags: hurricane, Prospect Park
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Join the Litter Mob Next Tuesday

Wednesday, August 10th, 2011

If you want to see in person how one group can make a difference, join Marie for a Litter Mob in Prospect Park next Tuesday, August 16 at 9am.

The most recent clean-up was the seventh, and they noticed some progress, because the Natural Resources crew have added brush to the paths in the Midwood, which helps keep people out of the secluded areas. Thanks to everyone who has volunteered for all your hard work!

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Tags: Prospect Park, trash, volunteering
Posted in Green |

Flatbush Has the Greenest Block

Wednesday, August 3rd, 2011

The Brooklyn Botanic Garden awarded its Greenest Block in Brooklyn title to East 25th Street between Avenue D and Clarendon Road, the third time the street has captured the award–it previously won in 2004 and 2006.

A news release from the BBG says the block makes great use of native plants and care for street tree beds, as well as with its collective watering efforts and adoption of a vacant building. The 300 East 25th Street Block Association succeeded in including all of its neighbors in its greening efforts, going so far as to care for the front yard of a vacant building, in which squash and other vegetables are now growing.

“We tried for 100 percent participation,” said Hazel Deane, who has lived on East 25th Street for 37 years and is chairperson of the block’s gardening club. “With 56 homes on the block, that’s a challenge. This year we had the most participation ever.” Deane said their efforts to motivate neighbors even spread to the next block: “We were thrilled! We’d like to see all of Flatbush turn green.”

We’d like to see the same thing. Congratulations, East 25th Street!

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Tags: Greenest Block
Posted in Green |

Watering and Composting at Church Avenue Communal Garden

Wednesday, July 27th, 2011

Join the Church Avenue Communal Garden at the Flatbush Reformed Church in its successful first season by volunteering to water the plants, stop by to drop off compost, or just drop in any time you see people at work int he garden, and they’ll be happy to show you around.

One of the best times to stop by is Wednesday afternoons, which coincide with the Flatbush Farm Share pick-up. Volunteers are on hand for watering and composting tonight from 5-7pm, and you can learn more about the CSA as well.

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Tags: Church Avenue Communal Garden, Flatbush Farm Share
Posted in Green |

Prospect Park Litter Mob Goes On

Friday, July 8th, 2011

Because the litter in the park never ends, neither has the effort by Marie Viljoen to help clean it up. In May, she organized the first Litter Mob to pick up trash in the Midwood section of Prospect Park, but they’ve done four more sweeps of the park since, and it will continue bi-weekly. There’s been so much litter (but other things too, like raspberries!) to talk about, Marie has started a Litter Mob blog, so be sure to visit to see the progress, and to find out how you can help.

The Litter Mob meets every second Tuesday at the corner of Center Drive and east Drive in the park. The next clean-up is July 19th, 9am.

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Posted in Community Event, Green |

Garden Festival & Potluck Tonight

Wednesday, June 8th, 2011

Stop by the Flatbush Reformed Church this evening for a celebration of the growing season with a festival and potluck from Sustainable Flatbush and the Flatbush Farm Share. There will be live music, tabling from several great organizations and projects, garden tours, and a wine and tempeh tasting. Bring food or drink to share, and if possible, your own cups/plates/utensils.

Garden Spring Festival and Potluck Social
Church Avenue Communal Garden
at the Flatbush Reformed Church
East 21st Street at Kenmore Terrace
Wednesday, June 8
4 – 8pm

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Tags: Church Avenue Communal Garden, Flatbush Farm Share
Posted in Community Event, Green |

Big Native Planting Day at Church Garden

Wednesday, June 1st, 2011

This Saturday, June 4, stop by the Church Avenue Communal Garden to do a little (or a lot) gardening! from Sustainable Flatbush:

Thanks to a very generous donation from the Greenbelt Native Plant Center, City of New York Department of Parks and Recreation, this week we’ll be receiving more than 390 individual plants of over a dozen species propagated from wild populations around NYC. We will need a BIG turnout on Saturday to clear weeds, prepare planting beds, and get the plants in the ground! That means, we need YOU!

Chris Kreussling (aka Flatbush Gardener), Director of our Urban Gardens and Farms Initiative, will be there to share his abundant knowledge of native plants and their important role in New York City’s ecosystem. So this is a great opportunity to get your hands dirty, help beautify a historic site in the heart of Flatbush, AND gain some knowledge about our urban environment. You know you don’t want to miss this one!

Native Planting Day at the Church Avenue Communal Garden
Saturday, June 4th, 11am-4pm
Flatbush Reformed Church
Enter at East 21st Street and Kenmore Terrace

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Tags: Church Avenue Communal Garden
Posted in Green |

Truck Farm Garden Contest

Friday, May 27th, 2011

If you’re out in the garden with the kids this weekend (or dropping seeds in some street tree pits), consider taking a photo and submitting it to the 2011 Truck Farm Garden Contest.

This spring, encourage the kids around you to join thousands of other youth across the country as they plant seeds in the most creative, most funky places they can think of.

Kids can e-mail a photo of themselves with their garden to contest@truck-farm.com by the June 1st deadline to participate in the Truck Farm Garden Contest. Include name, age, school (if participating as a class) and title of photo. A panel of celebrity judges including Michael Pollan and Alice Waters will award prizes to the winning entries!

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Tags: gardening
Posted in Green |