News
Green Drinks is Tuesday, September 14th, 2010 at 7:30 p.m.
The Green Team is gearing up for the 4th annual Maplewood Green Day and we can't wait to share the details with you. Come to Green Drinks to learn about what we have planned for Green Day, and about new environmental initiatives in town.
Bring a friend! No fee, cash bar.
Details:
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
7:30 PM
O’Reilly’s Bar and Grill
2208 Millburn Avenue
Maplewood, NJ 07040
Maplewood Green Team to start bi-weekly outreach around town
Maplewood's Green Team, over 50 strong and growing, will be reaching out to the community every second and fourth Saturday of the month from March through November (weather permitting).
We will be setting up an information table in Maplewood Village and other locations around town. Stop by and sign up for the 2010 Maplewood Green Challenge, find out the many things that you can recycle (and how, and where), learn about the Greenway for the Rahway project, and the many other sustainability initiatives that are being taken on by the dedicated volunteers.
Green Drinks is Monday, June 21st at O'Reilly's
Chris Czech, a local landscape designer, will be at Green Drinks on Monday, June 21st at 7:30 p.m. Her topic will be attracting nature to your garden.
There will be a discussion of design techniques and particular plant material which birds, butterflies, etc. will respond to. Also, there are some elements, such as water, which make for a "critter-friendly" ecosystem for your yard.
All are welcome, so invite your friends! O'Reilly's is located at 2208 Millburn Avenue, across from the Audi dealership.
No fee, cash bar.
Rogowski Farm CSA has started delivering local vegetables to residents
The Maplewood CSA for Rogowski Farm returns for 2010. Fresh organically grown, vegetables will be delivered each Tuesday for 25 weeks in Maplewood from June 8 to November 23. Pick up will continue to be from 2-7 pm at Morrow Memorial United Methodist Church parking lot.
Rogowski Farm is a second generation family farm in the magnificent black dirt region of Pine Island in the Town of Warwick in Orange County, NY. Transitioned from the typical onion farm to a diverse operation consisting of 150 acres of fertile muck soil. They grow over 250 varieties of produce each year utilizing ecologically friendly and environmentally sound practices.
Questions -- call Kerry Tilden at 973-903-8989 or csa_maplewood@morrowmem.org. More information about W. Rogowski Farm available at http://www.rogowskifarm.com.
Cooking Oil is now being recycled at the Maplewood Department of Public Works
The container arrived and is ready to be filled. Just bring your used cooking oil (the stuff you probably store in jars under the sink and then throw out) to the Department of Public Works at 359 Boyden Avenue. This will add one more item to our recycling list and will help grease blockages in sewer lines.
This service is available for residents and businesses alike, so our local restaurants can start bringing their used cooking oil over as of this posting.
If you don't already collect your used cooking oil, just keep your clean, used glass jars under the sink and pour your oil into it after you've finished cooking with it.
Any questions, please call the Department of Public Works at 973-762-1175.
Solar Carnival on Saturday, May 22nd, at Memorial Park.
Maplewood Community Garden Pilot Project Takes Root
Under the auspices of the Green Team, the Maplewood Community Garden Pilot Project began behind town hall on Saturday, May 1. Wood, soil, compost, saws, drills, adults and children all ‘mixed it up’ to build and setup the 28 planting beds.
There are many Community Gardens throughout the area – Newark, South Orange, Millburn to name a few. Here in Maplewood, we see ourselves getting even greener with the addition of the garden. Irene Dunsavage came to the Township Committee wanting to begin the garden this year. Since planning usually takes many more months than we had, the process to get the Pilot Project going was intense.
Plantings, mostly vegetables, will be in the soil within a couple of weeks. Children will learn and work with the rest of the gardening community. A bed will be dedicated to raising food for local food pantries.
Stop by to see the progress and check back here for an announcement of the first tomato which turns red! We also invite you to join the Parks and Gardens Committee of the Green Team to enjoy helping Maplewood’s sustainable efforts. (Photo courtesy of Joy Yagid)
Solar Power Demonstration at 3 Rutgers Street in Maplewood on Wednesday, May 5, 2010 fro 1:00-4:00 p.m.
Come watch the system get turned on and the electric meter will start running backward!
Have a look at Maplewood's first ever Shred-a-thon. Over 4 tons of documents shredded!
Solar Powered Home Demonstration
Wednesday, May 5th, 2010 from 1:00-4:00 p.m. at 3 Rutgers Street in Maplewood
Come see the meter spin backwards!
Come see the first residential solar system installed by the Home Depot Superstore under the new NJ Clean Energy Program in Maplewood, the GREENEST TOWN IN NJ!
Meet other homeowners who have “gone solar”, and take a tour of the system, and get Green Team Information.
For more info call Kevin Kraft 973-763-6333 or go to www.NewJerseySolarFunding.com.
MAPLEWOOD'S HOME ENERGY SAVINGS AND WEATHERIZATION FAIR
Maplewood's Home Energy Savings and Weatherization Fair was a great opportunity to learn about generous NJ funded programs, in addition to Federal income tax credits, that are available to both owners and renters who pay PSE&G bills. There were service providers on hand who could analyze your home and install cost-effective energy efficiency measures (based on what your home needs) including: weather sealing around windows and doors, insulation upgrades (attics, walls), heating/cooling equipment maintenance, energy saving thermostats, water heater and water pipe insulation, energy efficient appliances and lighting, and other measures.
Of particular note: If you use your home as your primary residence, pay a PSE&G bill heat your home with gas or electricity, and have income below certain guidelines you can learn about a great program, Comfort Partners, that may provide these services and products to you for FREE - and sign up on the spot. Even if you don’t meet all of the income guidelines, there are programs that offer significant discounts.
EARTH WEEK 2010
Monday, April 12th 9:00 am -- Tree Planting A Maple tree, which was generously donated by Pleasantdale Nurseries in West Orange last Green Day (October 11, 2009), was planted in Memorial Park, behind Memorial Library and across the stream. The American Red Maple (which is native to this area) spent the winter in the town's greenhouse. According to Todd Lamm, the Supervisor of Parks and Shadetree, the tree will be treated with a biostimulant to help it acclimatize and grow. The biostimulant is basically cold water sea kelp, which makes the roots more porous and increases their ability to take up nutrients and water. Trees were also planted up on Irvington Avenue today. For more coverage, see Maplewood Patch.
Saturday, April 17th, 9-11:30 am -- Village Alliance Spring Planting and Cleanup Sponsored by Valley National Bank. Volunteers welcomed spring by helping to beautify our lovely Village with a cleanup and flower planting
Saturday, April 17 10:00 am - noon -- Home energy conservation literature distribution DeHart Community Center. The Green Team energy conservation group distributed information on the attractive NJ Clean Energy programs to provide financial support for households that take energy conservation measures. There are excellent programs to provide financial help and advice on ways that almost all Maplewood households can reduce their energy waste but too few people know about them and take advantage of them.
Sunday, April 18, 9:30-noon Forest Regeneration Corps. The South Mountain Conservancy held its first activity of the year. Volunteers removed invasive plants, and planted native plants.
Monday April 19th, 7:30 p.m. -- Green Drinks Steve Tesoriero of Renewable Resource Systems spoke about home energy efficiency. O’Reilly’s Bar and Grill, 2208 Millburn Avenue. No fee, cash bar.
Wednesday, April 21, 7-9 pm at Memorial Library (downstairs) -- Organic Gardening Lecture given by Jan Zientek, Essex County Master Gardener Coordinator. We learned what an organic garden is and how you can start one of your own. Free and open to the public.
Friday, April 23, 7:30 pm at Ethical Culture Society, 516 Prospect Street. Food, Inc. by filmmaker maker Robert Kenner lifts the veil on our nation's food industry, exposing the highly mechanized underbelly that's been hidden from the regulatory American consumer with the consent of our government's agencies, USDA and FDA.
Saturday, April 24, 10 am -- Composting Workshop Virginia Lamb Falconer will lead a composting workshop at the Recycling Center, 359 Boyden Ave. Learn how to turn your household waste into valuable fertilizer while reducing your trash. $10 workshop fee.
Saturday, April 24, 8 am-noon -- Shred-a-thon Event Many people took advantage of the Shred-a-thon to clear out your old financial and personal records. They brought their old papers and watched them get shredded on the spot. At the Recycling Center, 359 Boyden Ave. Free and open to the public. Over 4,000 pounds shredded!
Saturday April 24th, 10 am-12 noon -- Rahway River Cleanup Volunteers met at Memorial Park off Dunnell Road near the walking bridge to get an assignment to help clean up the Rahway River.
Saturday April 24th, Noon-5 pm Look for the Environmental Advisory Committee table at Maplewood Village’s Spring Open Market. For more information, contact Julia Doran at 973-762-4566.
Maplewood's First Shred-a-thon!
No time like the spring to clean out your old files…..
Take advantage of Maplewood’s first ever town wide Shred-a-thon. Many households are full of old paperwork, bank statements, financial records that are outdated and not necessary to keep. Wouldn’t you like to unload them in a quick, safe and secure way? A shred-a-thon is just that way. On April 24th, a shredding truck will be parked at the Maplewood DPW at 359 Boyden Ave from 8:00 am to noon. You can bring your old papers and watch them get shredded on the spot. No need to worry about your personal information getting in the wrong hands.
What is necessary to shred? You want to shred papers with account and/or social security numbers, e.g.; old checks, bank statements, utility bills. They should not be disposed of with the regular paper recycling.
Click here for some guidance on which documents to keep and for how long. Get those documents together now and join us on Saturday April 24th!
Rahway Greenway meeting
On Thursday, March 4th, 2010, at 7:30 p.m., there will be a public meeting about the Rahway Greenway project. Everyone is invited and we welcome your input. This project is in the initial planning stages, so let us know your thoughts, hopes, and concerns.
Green Drinks at O'Reilly's
On Tuesday, February 23rd, 2010, at 7:30 p.m., we met at O'Reilly's Bar and Grill on 2208 Millburn Avenue in Maplewood (right across from the Audi dealership).
Matthew Morra, from Green Energy People, provided us with information on the latest local changes in residential solar funding. These changes will make solar much more affordable for Maplewood and South Orange residents.
Green Drinks is a global effort that began over 30 years ago to help raise awareness of environmental issues, and now takes place in many cities around the world. It's a great chance to relax and network, talk about environmental issues, meet people, develop new ideas, and make new friends. Everyone is welcome, so spread the word! (No admission fee, cash bar)
Rahway Greenway meeting
On Friday, January 29, 2010, at 2:00 p.m., a public meeting was held at the Municipal Building, 574 Valley Street, Maplewood, New Jersey to discuss the Rahway River Corridor study. The discussion was led by Robert Bratt, Acting Township Engineer, Jan Saltiel of Edgewater Design and Kerry Miller, Assistant Director of ANJEC.
Here is the Rahway River Corridor as it is today.
Green Team Meets Again
The quarterly meeting of Maplewood's Green Team took place on Monday, January 11th, 2010 at Town Hall. You can read all about it on Patch. You can also read the meeting minutes here.
Plastic Bag Recycling Program
Maplewood Memorial Library’s Hilton Branch Library and Fringe Hair Salon have teamed up to rescue plastic bags from landfills where they can take up to 1000 years to degrade. Just drop off your clean, dry plastic grocery bags in the lovely bins located at Fringe (1874 Springfield Avenue) and Hilton Branch Library (1688 Springfield Avenue) from January through April 2010. Sign up for our monthly workshops devoted to repurposing plastic bags. On January 21st, Kari from Kari’s Café will be leading a workshop making baskets out of “plarn” – yarn made from plastic bags. Register by phone or in-person at Hilton Branch: 973/762-1688. (no crochet or knitting experience necessary) Ages 10 to adult.
Questions? Comments? Ideas? Please call Betsy Wald, Branch Manager, Hilton Branch: 973/762-1688.
Tree-cycling
Recycling your tree is easy and free of charge. Put your holiday trees out to the curb during the month of January and the Department of Public Works will pick them up to be mulched. Plastic bags around trees allowed but they prefer them without. You can also put out your wreaths and garlands. Please remove all metal if possible from wreaths and garlands. They will get picked up regardless, but can only be mulched if the metal is removed.
December Green Drinks
Tuesday, December 8th was the latest Green Drinks get-together.
Dennis Percher, Chair of the South Mountain Conservancy, and Tricia Zimic, Board member, gave us a great introduction to the South Mountain Conservancy and its activities with emphasis on the $800K multi-year forest regeneration project with the County. In October, the Conservancy and Essex County announced the completion of a unique planting program to accelerate the restoration of the forest in the South Mountain Reservation. Through this aggressive initiative, 48,000 native plant species were reintroduced into the reservation to reverse destruction caused by the overbrowsing of deer.
Here is an excerpt from the evening.
Maplewood wins the Sustainable Jersey™ Leadership Award
Once again, Maplewood has been honored for its environmental leadership and accomplishments. The first ever Sustainable Jersey™ awards luncheon took place at the New Jersey League of Municipalities Conference on Tuesday, November 17, 2009. Maplewood was recognized as the municipality that contributes the most to the Sustainable Jersey program through demonstrated regional and statewide leadership.
So far, 30 communities have been certified through the fledgling Sustainable Jersey program. Sustainable Jersey is a certification program for municipalities in New Jersey that want to go green, control costs and save money, and take steps to sustain their quality of life over the long term. Sustainable Jersey identifies concrete actions that municipalities can implement to become "certified" and be considered leaders on the path to sustainable community; provides clear guidance and tools to enable communities to make progress on each action; and provides access to grants, and identifies existing and new incentives for municipalities to make progress toward the actions.
DeHart Park Groundbreaking
On Saturday, November 14th, 2009, ground was broken for the renovation project for DeHart Park. The project is expected to be completed in Fall of 2010. The DeHart renovation was originally slated to involve artificial turf fields but when the project was put to a referendum in town, it was voted down. It will now include organic grass in addition to other improvements. More information about the project and its history is included here.
The first shovel honors went to the Town Council. Pictured here from left to right are Jerry Ryan, Kathy Leventhal, Mayor Vic DeLuca, and Fred Profeta. (Photo courtesy of Bob Dlugos)