Anne Megaro presenting about garden education at the 4th annual REED conference

The fourth annual Regional Environmental Educators Day (REED) conference was held at Teatown Lake Reservation in Ossining New York on January 15th, 2014. On this sunny but cold morning four Groundwork staffers trooped into the "bear room" and prepared for one of two workshops to be led by the staff during the conference. Determined to increase Groundwork's presence at REED, which is an important regional event, Science Barge Director of Education, Jennifer Sloan joined the planning committee and helped to organize the workshops. Jennifer also co -led a workshop on Hudson River watershed education  with Vicky Garufi from the Beczak. This interactive workshop incorporated PowerPoints, activities and discussion and was so well received that the questions ran over into lunch and the two presenters spent most of their lunch hour talking about the tools and activities they use to teach environmental science to school children.

Jennifer Sloan and Vicky Garufi teaching about the Hudson River watershed.

 

            Groundwork's second workshop was co-led by none other than Anne Megaro, Director of

Land Programs, and Chanyz Estrada, past Barge intern, Groundwork Green teamer and current intern at the Greenburgh Nature Center. The title of their workshop was "Garden Education" and the topics they covered ranged from Barge programs to in-school activities to what it actually means to do hands-on learning. We thoroughly enjoyed participating in this year's REED conference and hope to be able to continue this participation in years to come.  

Volunteers cleaning the NFT hydroponic system on the barge

Happy Martin Luther King Jr's Birthday! This truly was a day "on" for Groundwork staff. The Science Barge crew was busy doing a pre-spring cleaning with a group from the Volunteer Center of United Way. Despite the sleet, snow and cold weather, 14 brave volunteers ventured out onto the Hudson. The group cleaned hydroton, scrubbed down hydroponic systems and organized the battery room. Days like this are a tremendous help to all of us at Groundwork and a great way to get the Barge ready for its 2014 season.

Groundwork youth exploring Newtown Creek

  

Meanwhile, Sara Smith Sell and Curt Collier led youth from Saunders High School and Gorton High School students on an environmental justice tour of Brooklyn. As MLK said, "Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere." Using this quote as a frame, the group toured Newtown Creek and the Gowanus Canal. Seeing the amount of visible oil in the water at Newtown Creek was shocking for the youth.  There are between 17 and 30 million

 gallons of oil in the creek. As of 2012,

 they have removed 8.8 gallons. This raised the

Oil in Newtown Creek

 question of why this creek and the canal are so polluted. And who lives near them? The Groundwork staff led the students in a discussion of income-inequality and race and how these factors are essential when understanding why polluted areas are where they are. After visiting these sites the group visited the Queens Museum and the panorama of New York City. Overall a fun and informative day for all!      

   

Free-A Tree is back in full force this year. The Saw Mill River Coalition has already led a successful vine cutting at Farragut Avenue. 

Now in our 9th consecutive year of providing all organic vegetables to residents of Yonkers, Groundwork's CSA runs for 20-22 weeks, starting in June and ending in October. Cost is $300-$400, depending on income.

Farm Team Applications due March 7th

Do you know any Yonkers Public High School students looking for a summer job? Groundwork is recruiting for our 2014 Farm Team. Learn urban farming, canning, jam making and how to run a successful farmer's market.