Groundwork Hudson Valley Changing Places. Changing Lives.

Thanks to a generous donation from Good Ideas, Inc., The Science Barge is now home to two new composting bins: a Compost Wizard Tumbler and a Compost Wizard Standing Bin. Composting is an essential component of the work we do here on The Science Barge, as a key part of our mission is to produce nutritious food with zero waste. An expanded on-board composting program will ensure that we remain true to our zero-waste policy by increasing our capacity to compost all of the plant waste that is a by-product of pruning and harvesting crops, along with the food waste brought to the Barge in student lunches. While the valuable nutrients found in organic matter are too often lost to landfills, our composting program turns “waste” into beneficial nutrient-rich soil amendments that can be used to grow plants on-board the Barge and elsewhere. Students and visitors on The Science Barge get to dig in and get their hands dirty by participating in our “Green Lunch Challenge” and other on-board education programs. These programs teach students the importance of reducing waste through composting, recycling and reusing. Click here to read more about the ways we demonstrate sustainable urban agriculture on The Science Barge.

Groundwork Hudson Valley
And
The Science Barge
Present:

Second Annual Floating Sculpture Exhibition
June 12th – 13th, 2010

Drawing upon our 2009 success, we are repeating our floating water sculpture exhibition. Groundwork Hudson Valley is seeking artists to create floatable art to be installed in a semi-sheltered section of the river adjacent our Science Barge.

Our water sculpture celebration is a two day event building upon our work in this community. The event begins on Saturday morning with the installation. The event continues later that day with a reception for the artists and music, and an opportunity for the judges to review the art. There are also boxes for the guests to vote on their favorite art. All Saturday and Sunday the sculptures will be available for viewing by the general public.

The site of the installation is the Hudson River in an area between the Science Barge and the shore. The Science Barge is moored 35’ off shore. There is a beautiful little park onshore along side a brick path with benches. The park sits at the confluence of the Saw Mill River and the Hudson River. Combined with the majestic Palisades in the distance framed by the George Washington and Tappan Zee Bridges, make this an especially beautiful site.

The Science Barge, its gangway, and the shore side park makes it possible for the sculptures to be viewed easily from all sides. The sculptures will be judged for artistic merit and creativity by a panel of judges and by a “people’s choice” ballot and recognition awards will be given. Please see the  attached rules for further information. It is important that each submission carefully follow these guidelines.

We hope you’ll join in the celebration of the river by providing your artistic talent. By bringing people down to the Hudson River you help raise awareness as to the plight of this majestic and important body of water.

All start at 3:00 p.m. unless otherwise noted.

FEBRUARY
16 – Food and Love: From Gifts of Chocolate to Deadly Fish
23 – Beyond Wood: The Edible Tree – a survey of trees and what they’re used for

MARCH
2 – The Spices of Life: The ingredients that mobilized a world
9 – How Food Influenced Art: A slide show on food art from still life to soup cans
16 – FILM SHOWING: The Garden (Award winning documentary on community gardens)
23 – VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITY (at Riverside H.S.). Rethinking Food With Youth (10:22 – 11:09 a.m.)
30 – Marketing and Food: How Park Avenue and Wall Street shaped what we eat.

APRIL
6 – Tea: From Religion to Revolution
13 – The Diet Wars: How conversations about what we should eat have changed our culinary habits
20 – TOUR: Organic Farming Techniques (12:00 – 4:00) – Sister Hill Farm. 2:00 p.m.
24 – SATURDAY VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITY: – Kick off Festivities at the Science Barge (12-2 p.m.)
27 – The Invention of Sauce:  The Four Mother Sauces, and a few others.

MAY
4 – Canceled (Green Jobs Conference in Washington)
11 – What Mother Made: Home Inventions, Julia Child, and TV Dinners
18 – Seafood and the History of the Fishmongers
25 – FILM SHOWING: “The Power of Community – How Cuba Survived Peak Oil”

JUNE
1 – Pesto Making Class: Learn traditional and adapted recipes (including sage) – Free Basil!
8 – TOUR: Plant and Human Nutrition Aboard the Science Barge (free lettuce!)
12 – VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITY: Booth at the Science Barge Floating Sculpture Event 12 – 2 p.m.
15 – Sugar at Any Price?: Why we crave sugar, and how it ends up in all of our food

All these activities are free. To insure a seat on the bus, please sign up for the trips in advance. NOTE: IF THE DAY’S FORECAST PREDICTS MORE THAN A DUSTING OF SNOW THE TRIP IS CANCELED. All events and activities are free and open to all adults 55+ years. For more information contact Curt Collier at (914) 375-2151, or curt@groundworkhv.org.

On Thursday, October 29th staff from GW USA, GW HV, the Saw Mill River Coalition, and a member of our Youth Green Team made a trip to E.P.A. headquarters in Washington D.C. to meet with their Office of Water, which focuses on urban rivers and streams.

Help us put the finishing touches on our BioBlitz reports and learn about all of the species found! Contact us at (914) 375-2151 or emily@groundworkhv.org or respond to this post!

October/November 2009. To sign up to receive our occaisional newsletters, send a quick e-mail to emily@groundworkhv.org

This month Groundwork began a three month long job training program. With the help of our partners at WestHab, we recruited and hired 17 “at-risk” young adults in Yonkers. In the first two weeks, the group will do a series of job readiness workshops. During the following 4 weeks, Groundwork staff will conduct intensive sustainable landscaping training in areas such as green landscape design and construction, building and maintaining organic gardens, identifying and planting native flowers, trees and shrubs, identifying and managing invasive plants, and using heavy duty tools to make planters and garden boxes.

At the end of the first 6 weeks, a select group of 12 participants will be chosen to receive hands-on training, skill development and career exploration in the preservation, conservation and restoration of natural and cultural resources at Roosevelt Vanderbilt National Historical Park in partnership with Groundwork USA. The group will be trained by an expert in the field of dry stone masonry, a rare and valuable skill. In addition to the preservation training activities at Roosevelt Vanderbilt National Historical Park, training and development will also be provided in life skills, job readiness skills, leadership, civic engagement and stewardship in their community.

Groundwork USA and Groundwork Hudson Valley and Roosevelt Vanderbilt National Historic Site share the following objectives for this ARRA funded project:

• Provide diverse youth educational and employment opportunities so they might gain a better understanding and appreciation of NPS’ natural and cultural resources.
• Engage diverse youth in active stewardship and improvement of the park’s cultural landscape.
• Expand understanding of the park’s history and significance among an underserved constituency.
• Increase the training, skill development and career exploration for diverse youth which would be relevant in seeking NPS employment in the future.
• Provide hands on experience with restoration of culturally significant dry laid stone walls.