Even though it sometimes means you may have to deal with confused people…

Organized by Citizen’s for NYC

They moved heavy bags of mulch & stones. Weeded, planted, pruned, removed garbage, raked, & wielded pitch forks!

Thank you Bloomingdales and Citizen’s for NYC!

Before:

During:

After:

And thank you to the Guys who were Allies for Girls Day:

Steve Elson schlepping bags of stones, our two PEP officers, Ralph Musolino of Parks Department and his staff Don and others ,and, of course, SDR’s heart and soul: Bob Humber and our hard working Citizen’s for NYC Development Volunteer Coordinator Andrew Rohrberger!

NYTimes:

“Go to any major chain supermarket and think about that tower of perfectly stacked, impeccable oranges or tomatoes, and understand that the supermarket by design has already figured and costed-out the fact — the immutable fact — that they will throw 30 percent in the garbage just so it will look cool,” he said. “This is horrifying.”

Chef Danny Bowien stars with Mr. Bourdain in their new film, “Wasted: The Story of Food Waste,”

BIRDS OF NORTH AMERICA

17 Goals to Transform Our World

United Nations:

Climate change is now affecting every country on every continent. It is disrupting national economies and affecting lives, costing people, communities and countries dearly today and even more tomorrow.

People are experiencing the significant impacts of climate change, which include changing weather patterns, rising sea level, and more extreme weather events. The greenhouse gas emissions from human activities are driving climate change and continue to rise. They are now at their highest levels in history. Without action, the world’s average surface temperature is projected to rise over the 21st century and is likely to surpass 3 degrees Celsius this century—with some areas of the world expected to warm even more. The poorest and most vulnerable people are being affected the most.

Affordable, scalable solutions are now available to enable countries to leapfrog to cleaner, more resilient economies. The pace of change is quickening as more people are turning to renewable energy and a range of other measures that will reduce emissions and increase adaptation efforts.

But climate change is a global challenge that does not respect national borders. Emissions anywhere affect people everywhere. It is an issue that requires solutions that need to be coordinated at the international level and it requires international cooperation to help developing countries move toward a low-carbon economy.

To address climate change, countries adopted the Paris Agreement at the COP21 in Paris on 12 December 2015. The Agreement entered into force less than a year later. In the agreement, all countries agreed to work to limit global temperature rise to well below 2 degrees Celsius, and given the grave risks, to strive for 1.5 degrees Celsius.

Implementation of the Paris Agreement is essential for the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals, and provides a roadmap for climate actions that will reduce emissions and build climate resilience.

Lovingly tended by Rob Watson and company.

Visitors talked to the chickens, communed with the Turtles in the pond, played in the sandbox and Bocce Court – and watched the migrations of the Monarch Butterflies.

And the fearless Parks Rat Borough Removers swung by:

Beautiful and endangered. Monarch Butterflies.

Several Gardeners are now growing milkweed – crucial to the Monarch’s survival.

Endangered by Climate Change and “Roundup” Herbicide NYTimes:

“Of all the assaults on the monarch population, climate change may prove the most pernicious. In summer, excessive heat stresses developing caterpillars already vulnerable to diseases and predators. In fall, unseasonable warmth can prevent them from heading south in time to reach their wintering grounds, and extreme weather events like hurricanes can destroy an entire wave of the migration before it reaches Mexico…”

“The life cycle of the monarch hinges on the availability of milkweed, but the prevalence of the herbicide Roundup has made milkweed very hard to find: Crops genetically modified to withstand herbicides can be carpet-sprayed, poisoning every wildflower in its wake. Milkweed, which once grew in great stands along the nation’s roadsides and in the margins of farms, essentially disappeared from the American landscape overnight. In 1996, the year before Roundup-resistant soybeans and corn were first planted in the Midwest, the butterflies’ primary migration corridor, there were a billion migrating monarchs in North America. This year there are roughly 109 million, and that number is down 27 percent from just last year.”

Pam Ito of the Horticultural Society (“The Hort”) is hosting the NYC Audubon Society in SDR Park.

They will begin at Hester and Forsyth and walk up through the park at 9:30am Saturday November 4th!

If you have them, please bring binoculars – though there will be pairs to share.

Stay tuned for further details…

Many migrating birds have been passing through the park.

From the NYC Audubon Society:

Help The Audubon Society Learn About Dangers to Migrating Birds with D-Bird

Fall migration is underway— many migrating birds will run into trouble while attempting to ‘navigate our city’s maze of cement and glass’.

If you find an injured or dead bird the Wild Bird Fund offers good advice on what to do.

If a bird needs professional  help call Wild Bird Fund: 646-306-2862

or view list of Animal Hospitals and Rehabilitation Centers in New York City to find a place to take the bird.

Project Safe Flight we can help understand bird collisions in New York City by using D-Bird.

2017

With a very large thanks to the Park’s Department for our new Big Belly Solar Compacting Garbage Bins.

The only bins that are truly rat proof. There will be a few kinks to work out but we are grateful they are here.

There have been two Big Belly sitings – one near “The Pit” and the other in Rivington Playground. Have you seen them anywhere else?