Earth Day!
Sustainable Germantown coordinated its second annual Earth Day Celebration in Palatine Park and helped continue the tradition at Palatine Manor. So many of our vital town organizations came out to show what the Earth means to them.
Invasive Pull Along Palatine Park Trail
In anticipation of Earth Day, over 100 students from GCS's first, second, and third grades participated in a garlic mustard pull along the trail in Palatine Park. Garlic mustard is an invasive species inadvertently introduced from Europe. Its tendency to form dense stands in the woodland understory decreases available habitat for our native spring plants that germinate and bloom quickly. Led by CSC member Molly Marquand, the students learned to identify common wildflowers blooming in the park and how to pull garlic mustard. Students pulled hundreds and hundreds of stems making space for the park's natives to flourish. The day, spent in the afternoon sunshine, was a hit and the start of a tradition that will hopefully continue for many Earth Days to come!
Invasive Species Removal continued Saturday when landscape architect and native species expert, Barbara Hughey, led the Boy Scouts and other residents on a quest to remove some of the invasive live shrubbery from the trails. They focused primarily on the Privet and Honeysuckle overtaking the trails. Participants learned which plants support the native ecosystem and which may harm it along the way.
Earth Day at Palatine Manor
Also in the week leading up to Earth Day, Palatine Manor was lucky to have the GCS 4th grades come in two different shifts, spanning 3.5 hours of fun and planting with time to picnic. They planted shrubs purchased from the DEC run Saratoga Tree Nursery, and flowers from Home Depot at a discount (thank you, Home Depot for always being generous). There were approximately 45 students involved, and several of the Palatine Manor residents, as well as the staff.
Wendy Fieser, CSC and Palatine Manor Staff member writes “It is always my favorite day at Palatine Manor, and I'm grateful to the kids and teachers of the 4th grade at Germantown Central School, parent volunteers, Bev Meagher, the Elementary Principal, the residents who came out to help and baked delicious treats for the kids, and for the lovely weather that day.”
Happenings Under the Pavilion
Gabrielle Balkan, from the Library, did an earth themed story hour and activity. She also collected single-use batteries for recycling. Library Staff, together with the Local Girl Scouts Troop 5574, continued collecting batteries for the month and transported them to The Ozone for responsible disposal. The Farmer’s Market had a workshop on starting seeds in re-used egg cartons. The American Legion collected flags for proper retirement avoiding their disposal in landfills. Gaskins made delicious popcorn as well as sponsoring our newly updated Germantown Waste Guide. The Park Commission sponsored face painting by local artist Sasha Pearl. The Roe Jan Watershed Community spoke about their work monitoring water quality in the important Hudson River tributary which makes up our northern border.
Sustainable Germantown Energy Reduction Campaign Kick-Off
Sustainable Germantown, with the help of a grant from NYSERDA, was able to kick off an energy reduction campaign providing handouts on energy saving tips around the home as well as information on assistance and financing to make larger changes easier. We also provided no-cost goodies such as door draft stoppers sewn at the library maker space with instruction by Barbara Repko and Jamie Lynn Kara. The eco-friendly company If You Care donated compostable garbage bags, dish cloths and totes bags. Compost buckets and new waste guides were also distributed to celebrate the new county wide composting program. Any donations from these festivities were collected by the Park Commission to help fund planting new trees to provide erosion control and shade at Cheviot Park and Ice House Landing. Donations are still being accepted at Germantown Park Commission.