July 2024
Sustainable Warwick Minutes
July 17, 2024
Meeting chair: Michael Helme
The Pollinator Pathway Committee: The pollinator pathway signs have continued to sell like hotcakes. At least 100 signs have been sold and a third order has been placed. We are grateful to Corwins for stocking our signs, which are available whenever Corwins is open.
Our Pollinator Pathway Committee is hosting Pam Golben at Mountain Lake Park on Sunday July 21 at 2.00pm. After her presentation, “Creating a Butterfly Habitat,” a wide selection of native plants will be offered for sale. The presentation is suggested for adults and children ages 10 and up. Please take the time to join this event.pollinators@sustainablewarwick.org
Electric vehicles: Our new committee is creating a web page with useful information for potential EV owners. Also researching a location for EV dealers to offer test drives in their cars. cleanenergy@sustainablewarwick.org
Sustainable World Book Club: Our July book was The Heat Will Kill You First – an excellent analysis of the impact of increasing heat on individuals and places. Very relevant now as more people need to understand that heat can kill. Our August book will be Vesper Flights, by Helen Macdonald; copies are already available at the front desk of Albert Wisner Public Library. bookclub@sustainablewarwick.org
The Compost Committee: The success of this project continues to grow, as two more 27-gallon containers have been purchased; these allow the team to collect ever more food scraps at the Sunday Farmers Market. Meanwhile, the compost from last year’s food scraps is slowly developing. We’ve heard that other farmers markets around Orange County are starting to copy our lead and now have food scrap collection programs. We still have a few openings in the August volunteer schedule! If you'd like to help out, please contact Christy at garden@sustainablewarwick.org.
Zoom Garden Plot: This popular zoom meeting to discuss hyper-local gardening issues will take place next Monday, July 22nd, at 8 PM. If you'd like to get the Zoom link please contact garden@sustainablewarwick.org.
Good news! Danskammer has withdrawn its application to expand its operations in Newburgh. Many environmental groups were opposing the expansion.
Please keep an eye out - We would like our email subscribers to update their preferences and a special message will be sent out about this. We are also asking members to make an annual contribution of $25; this is an optional donation that is greatly appreciated. It is always top of mind that the time and energy Sustainable Warwick members contribute is our most precious resource.
New Initiative: Sustainable Warwick is planning a new initiative around publishing conversations with local residents who work on or have completed environmentally friendly actions, such as adopting EVs, discontinuing pesticides, or going plastic free. If you are interested in learning more about this, please contact the Steering Committee. steeringcommittee@sustainablewarwick.org
The August meeting will be our annual No-Waste Potluck Picnic at the Town Park on Union Corners Road. Please bring a dish to share, plus dishes and utensils. We’ll start at 6:00 pm on August 21st.
We concluded by talking about New York’s Extreme Heat Action Plan, which provided the graphic below. Are there people in Warwick who never needed air conditioning before who now have started to feel the increased heat? Is everyone in our community safe? Are people who require extra assistance aware of cooling centers they can turn to? These are important questions in today’s changing climate.
Please stay cool and keep in touch.