Are Farmer’s Markets a Sign of a Vibrant Community?

David and baby Olympia head to Ballard Farmer's Market in Seattle, where they close off the street every Sunday for the market

It’s Valentine’s Day and I’m in Seattle visiting my brother David and sister-in-law Mandy and their beautiful newborn girl Olympia Opal.  She’s a mellow baby who seems content for the most part. It’s wonderful to hold her and I love the smell of little babies, don’t you? Yesterday morning we headed out to shop at University Farmer’s Market in Seattle, one of many around the city. Even in the rain it was a full, vibrant market. People were friendly and vendors enthusiastic to talk about their growing methods and products. I had the feeling I was around good folk on my first day in town. When I mentioned my involvement with Gossett’s Farmer’s Market back in New York, I got more stories and samples and people asking questions about seasonal production and was generally given a huge, warm welcome. Several vendors said they looked forward to seeing me today at Ballard Farmer’s Market on another side of town.

David and Mandy kept asking what we wanted to do, and were really surpised when Anna, my 16 year old side-kick also looked forward to going to the market. She said that’s where she always meets friendly, down-to-earth people, or as she put it “real people, and sometimes hippies.” She has great memories of the farmer’s markets wherever she travels, like in Boulder, CO, at Union Square in NYC, in Woodstock, NY, in San Francisco, even in London, and of course she hangs out at the market back home in South Salem.

Anna at University Farmer's Market in Seattle chatting with an Irish flower vendor about wild flowers and cultivated flowers and the environmental impact of shipping flowers around the world

Besides all the foods we got that we feel good about, we got to connect with the heart of the community. I feel like I know a lot more about this town after being to two markets the first two days. I see that they take sustainability seriously here, perhaps more so than anywhere we’ve been. I was impressed to find that every vendor at the University market was either certified organic or using sustainable production methods. There were no plastic bags at the check out area, and people looked like they were buying a full week’s worth of produce, meats, cheeses and condiments. At Ballard Market, several blocks were closed off for the Sunday market, showing me that the community puts it’s support behind the market. Shops were all open and people wandered between the market, the restaurants and stores. Families were out in full force, the market is obviously an important piece of the local community. People were talking and shopping and wholeheartedly interested in their neighbors and community. I had a great conversation with a Kombucha maker, Chris Joyner. I asked him if there was another way to grow kombucha besides on sugar and he inquired why. I mentioned briefly some issues around the sugar trade and he asked for more info. I told him about a book, Sugar Blues and he asked me to email it to him because he’d like to educate himself about the issue. Anna got a huge back of organic apples (yes, it IS possible to grow organic apples in New England contrary to what some producers might tell you).

I asked one shop owner who had baked goods what they thought of the market, if it competed with their food sales. They said the market is part of what makes their neighborhood so vibrant and that it brings them business. Wow. Small towns like Katonah, NY: listen up! This is one more reason to support a farmer’s market in the heart of your town. It’s not competition for local stores, and it’s not a traffic headache, it’s about creating a vibrant sense of community, which in the long run benefits the whole town.

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Our Avatars: Environmental Provocateur J. Henry Fair

After watching the recent film Avatar, I was inspired to write about the people in my life who have inspired and taught me, and numerous others, about the powers of nature and healing and communication. My real-life avatars. Each with an urgent message. This is the story of one of them.

Heather Flournoy, Genevieve Lawson, J Henry Fair, Rebecca Bose, Lois Kral at local farmer's market. Genevieve, Rebecca and Lois are volunteers at the Wolf Conservation Center

I first noticed Henry Fair at the local farmer’s market with canvas bags overflowing with green kale and leeks. His huge laugh drew my attention, and then our mutual friend Tom said, “Heather, you two are like peas in a pod!” I laughed and joined the circle of conversation. Henry had just launched into an explanation of the damage that pig farms are wreaking on the ecosystem. He was saying something like,

“In the United States, hogs produce more than 119 million tons of waste a year, which then goes into a lagoon (spread out with his slight S. Carolina drawl) with feces, bacteria and things like pesticides and hormones the pigs were fed, and then make their way eventually into the groundwater and more.”

And I was intrigued (who wouldn’t be?). He went on to talk about renewable resources and we eventually argued about whether or not environmentalists should eat meat, even if grass-fed and organic. [for more on the factory hog farm issue see Discover article featuring Henry's photos and information]

I’m so timid in public about issues that get people riled up, and this guy was obviously not timid, and spoke with a tone of authority and genuine passion in a manner that captivated everyone around him. Including me. I asked him if I could interview him for my blog. I sensed he had lots and lots more to say. (little did I know!) I met him the next day for at his South Salem address, and as I drove past the sign for the Wolf Conservation Center, and through the gates, came upon a carcass of freshly killed deer at the side of the driveway. I persevered, though wondered what in the world I was getting myself into. [I later learned that the town drops off roadkill for the wolves that are housed there in a remarkable preserve. I would also soon learn that Henry is the founder of the Wolf Conversation Center, the preeminent facility in the eastern United States for the captive breeding and pre-release of endangered wolf species]

As I walked past rows of neatly stacked firewood surrounding the deck, the sun was setting. I stopped at the glass doors as I heard the wolves begin to howl. Awed by the unfamiliar sound that I had so often read about, or heard on movies, I was quiet as I stepped into the world of J Henry Fair, my soon-to-be close friend and respected comrade-in-arms.

Henry Fair is a renowned eco-photojournalist known for his incredible eye for visual beauty in the midst of destruction. He is most well-known

An aerial shot of one of the top 10% most polluting factories in the USA. It is known to be a major emitter of lead. www.IndustrialScars.com

for his aerial photography of industrial contamination sites which have been written about in magazines like National Geographic and Discover and are used by the leading environmental advocacy groups around the world. Check out his stunning and thought-provoking project, IndustrialScars.com. In his artist statement he writes:

My work is a response to my vision of society. I see our culture as being addicted to petroleum and the unsustainable consumption of other natural resources, which seems to portend a future of scarcity. My vision is of a different possibility, arrived at through careful husbandry of resources and adjustment of our desires and consumption patterns toward a future of health and plenty….At first, I photographed “ugly” things; which is, in essence, throwing the issue in people’s faces. Over time, I began to photograph all these things with an eye to making them both beautiful and frightening simultaneously, a seemingly irreconcilable mission, but actually quite achievable given the subject matter.

I never finished that interview. We simply talked and shared stories and have never stopped. Henry lives in constant state of questioning: how things can be done more efficiently, with less environmental impact, and more ease. And he is constantly looking for more ways to spread the message that our consumption-based habits need to change. NOW. At lunch this past week, we joked about his bowl of wine corks. “I’m going to think of something to use them for,” he says. I suggested he make them into recycled rolling foot massagers. He doesn’t allow me to do dishes because he has a particular way of cleaning them, that saves the most water. Nothing is wasted. There is a compost bucket near the sink. Water from the shower is caught in a bucket as the shower warms, and saved for flushing the toilet. He plans on installing a simpler way of managing that at some point. Every light that can be turned out or dimmed, is. He has figured out how to maximize the mileage of his original model Prius, which he only drives when he can’t walk, bike or use the commuter bus or avoid a trip altogther. He specifically chose to live near public transportation. He says that when you’ve seen what he’s seen around the world, the intense destruction and scars on the earth, you never again consume resources without thought. Question everything. I ask him what his dream is, how he plans on getting people to understand. He replies, “I don’t care about understanding. I want F**ing behaviour change.” He laughs dryly.

Back to that first time at Henry’s house, we went into the preserve where the Wolf Center’s ambassador wolves are. Henry fed Apache some raw meat and supplements through the fence. As I stood there dusk settled in, and he said to wait. Apache began a low, then high plaintive, chilling and awing howl, and slowly I heard answers from the wild packs around the preserve. Apache listened for the answers, then looked in my eyes and I realized I was in the presence of two avatars–Apache and Henry Fair.

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On January 1, 2010, Henry started Twitter tag, #365ways2savetheplanet, which is a label that people can use to search twitter. People make up these labels and many of them catch on. Let’s help this one catch on!  Every day he writes a short (less than 140 chrctrs) Tweet and sends it out to the Twitterverse in hopes it will get retweeted and serve to remind people of small changes they can make now. You can follow him on Twitter @jhenryfair. Here are some examples:

• Jan3: Buy in bulk. Plastic packaging uses oil to make and is one of the largest landfill items.
• Jan6: Don’t print that document. Read it on the computer. If you MUST print, use scrap or recycled paper!
• Jan11: Tell a friend. If ur living responsibly & making Earth-friendly decisions, spread the word. Be the change!
• Jan16: Just say NO 2 bottled water! Tap H2O all the way, filter if necessary, always drink from glass cup/bottle/etc.
• Jan25: Install an On-Demand water heater. A helpful site for additional info: http://tiny.cc/H2O
• Jan26: This goes w/o saying – #Recycle. Everything. If it’s not recyclable, don’t buy it. Easier said than done.

You can also find Henry on IndustrialScars.com

And on his blog: SoapBoxHenry

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Northern Westchester Reaches Out to Haiti

I was feeling a bit frantic about my life on Tuesday, until I heard about the earthquakes in Haiti and everything immediately snapped into perspective. I’m lucky. Very lucky to have a home and a healthy child and friends and food and water and even the means to write this note to you! Since then I’ve had reports from so many people about what they are doing to get help to Haitians, and wanted to share suggestions from local people, and from my Twitter and Facebook friends. There is so much we can do. Stop whatever you are doing and donate to one of these action organizations now. Then post this article to your Facebook page, Tweet it, and email it to friends. Make it easy for people to donate. If you have more suggestions, post them in the comments.

Shelter Box USA

Shelter Box USA is sending containers with emergency relief supply boxes equipped with tents, cooking stoves, sleeping mats and blankets, water purification kits and tools. Donate to Shelter Box here. Recommended by 3 local Twitterers: @gooddirt @pourMtKisco @Cornell140 @WestchesterMag

Come talk with Shelter Box USA volunteers at Gossett’s Nursery, Saturday, January 23rd from 10-12. They will show the emergency supply boxes and supplies they send to disaster areas, and explain how they work, and talk about the people working on the ground in Haiti as well as other areas of the world.

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Food For the Poor

Stephanie Crispinelli, a college student from Somers was on a college trip in Haiti working on infrastructure for Food for the Poor when the quake hit. Donate to Food for the Poor here. This organization has workers on the scene and infrastructure in place to quickly and efficiently get food to Haiti and distributed. (Sadly, stephanie has not been located as of this update. )

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Diocese of Norwich Haitian Ministries

The head of the Katonah Chamber of Commerce, Jennifer Cook wrote this appeal on her Facebook page, which was the first local connection I had heard about, “My niece is Jillian Thorp, the Acting Director of a Mission in Haiti that was ‘pulled out of the rubble’ in Haiti by her husband, Frank. It’s on all the news stories. She was trapped for 10 hours under a fallen roof. Jill and Frank are…maybe 24 years old? They are both safe, but thousands of others need our help.Please send prayers and money to this devastated country.” To donate through the Diocese of Norwich Haitian Ministries log on to www.haitianministries.org or call 860-638-1018 or 860-848-2237 ext. 206.

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Salvation Army

Grab your cell phone, text the word “HAITI” to 52000 and make a $10 donation to The Salvation Army Haiti Relief Effort! Recommended by Jim Long, on Twitter @newmediajim

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OXFAM International

Oxfam has units in the region and are mobilizing food, water and shelter to Haiti. Go to this video, click on ‘more info’ on the right and you’ll find a donations link. Or click here to donate directly.

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Red Cross International

Westchester Assemblywoman Amy Paulin recommended donations to the Red Cross on Twitter. Donate here.

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Save the Children

Our family friend Adam is the director of Save the Children, headquartered in Westport CT. Go to their site to watch video reports from Haiti, ongoing reports, and to donate. Save the Children is providing immediate lifesaving assistance, such as food, water, shelter and child-friendly spaces. Save the Children has worked in Haiti for twenty-five years with about 100 staff on the ground, primarily in the capital city of Port-au-Prince and the Central Plateau region, providing vulnerable children with health, education, protection and food security programs. Check their emergency response blog: http://savethechildren.typepad.com/

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American Jewish World Service

Bedford Hills resident Joy Perlow recommends American Jewish World Service who is mobilizing food, shelter and medical relief through the people and programs it already has in place in Haiti since 1999. Donate here.

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Partners in Health

Partners in Health was recommended by Keith Napolitano, a firefighter in Mamaroneck, who has been posting links and encouraging people through his Facebook page to donate to PIH’s efforts. Janet Keyes sent this message in reply to this article: “Another important charity for Haiti is Partners in Health, the organization founded by Dr. Paul Farmer and made known to millions of readers through Tracy Kidder’s  Mountains Beyond Mountains.” Donate Here.

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American Friends Service Committee

AFSC is dedicated to strengthening local capacity to rebuild, recover and heal after times of crisis and devastation. They have organizers in the region who will be working closely with Haitians to empower them in the rebuilding. Donate here. I personally recommend them as I trust this organization to act in the best interests of the citizens of Haiti in a manner that will help them to build their own infrastructure. I suggest donating to them in the future as their work will continue there long after the crisis is no longer news headlines.

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NOTES

Sarah Hodgson a Katonah author posted a link on her Facebook page about Search and Rescue dog teams headed to Haiti with link to more relief organizations.View here.

South Salem resident and well-known eco photographer Henry J Fair suggested on Twitter “Haiti leads hemisphere in deforestation, causing mudslides, flooding, erosion, which heighten quake devastation.”

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Special Announcement: On January 23rd take advantage of a very special opportunity to learn directly from David Mathison, renowned new media consultant, former VP of Reuter’s News Agency and author of Be The Media in a special seminar arranged byKatonah Green and Really Social Strategies at the Katonah Library. Environmental activists need to learn how to REALLY leverage social media to spread the message and create behavioral change. We have the power in our hands. Register now.

Local Residents Outraged About Release of Radioactive Steam over Hudson Valley

Two days after the fact, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission learned that an estimated 600,000 gallons of boiling, radioactive water turned to steam and was released over the lower Hudson Valley in November, 2009,  as a result of a malfunction that caused Westchester County’s Indian Point Nuclear Power Plant to be shut down.  Mired in slow response, vague details and insufficient health impact information, residents of Katonah, South Salem and Somers respond with outrage to a report on an investigation into the  incident published  January 8th in the Daily News.

The Daily reports, “NRC inspectors are still trying to figure out what really happened. A report on the incident is expected at the end of the month….The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency does not have safe levels set for inhaling tritium.”

Here are responses from local residents to the report:

But it’s OK, according to the NRC: “Nuclear Regulatory Commission spokesman Neil Sheehan said the release valves “were intentionally opened (as per plant procedures) as part of the shutdown.”…. “Sheehan stressed that the level of a radioactive isotope tritium in the steam was below the allowable federal levels for drinking water. The News, however, reported that the release of tritium was not in drinking water but in escaped steam which is inhaled through the lungs.”

Just another example of how the NRC has made it clear that their highest priority is to keep their regulatory charges profitable, and their agency relevant. A year or two ago at a public hearing regarding the extension of Indian Point’s license, after waiting in a long line of equally agitated citizens, I got to make my point to their faces. I worked in the engineering industry for fourteen years. No amount of engineering expertise can guarantee there will be zero malfunctions, and the NRC and their clients are being disingenuous when they tell us otherwise. I got no response – they are obliged to listen only. We know an airliner will come down occasionally; a petrochemical plant will blow up, and hard drives fail. The difference here is that failure can wreak a catastrophe of such scale that it is no longer possible to speak in terms of net benefits. That’s why nuclear power plants are essentially uninsurable, and can only operate with the risk passed to the public via the Price-Anderson Act .

Isn’t it ironic that public health insurance, which may protect us when we fall ill of leukemia from radiation exposure, is deemed by detractors as an excessive intervention by the government in the private economy, but socializing the risk of the Nuclear industry that creates these hazards is OK? The nuclear exposure from the steam release may be “below the allowable limits”, but the cynicism is off the scale. -Dan

Dan Welsh of South Salem way is currently doing penance for a previous career selling several hundred thousand tons of polyester production capacity to the Chinese. His sentence is sitting on the Lewisboro Town Board, attempting to promote sustainability measures to same in the midst of the worst economy in decades, in one of the most politically charged towns in the county. Your sympathies are appreciated.

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Where can I find data quantifying the range of acceptable levels of tritium to drink or inhale?  Also, once airborne, how long do these particulates stay suspended prior to settling on land, and water?

I felt the same kind of anger when Guiliani decided to spray the boroughs with malythian for West Nile Virus.  I had no choice about this happening over my neighborhood.  Although the advice for residents was to keep their windows shut for several hours, many residents had no air-conditioning and fans are useless with shut windows during a hot summer evening.  Needless to say, many NYC residents (my young developing children, to name three) built-up a whole lot of toxins during those sprayings.

When it comes to environmental health, we need to be stronger as a community. We need to join together and voice our disapproval whether it be from nuclear power plants spewing toxic chemicals into the air; coal firing plants and chlorine plants spewing mercury vapor into the air, which later mix with water vapor to become methyl-mercury polluting the fish, plants and animals we eat or the needless spraying of pesticides because 2 people were afflicted with West Nile Virus.

To quote Bill Moyers, “If you are not outraged, you aren’t paying attention”!-Lisa

Lisa Silver is co-founder of Citizens for a Sustainable Lewisboro.

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This effects us all and the hue and cry should reach all the way to Washington!

Herb Oringel, Chair, Energy Advisory Panel, Town of Somers
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Here is a link to the description of the Three Mile Island nuclear disaster which happened under similar circumstances with a valve not shutting off.

Please comment below after the descriptive tags for this article. Post this article to your Facebook page, email it to friends, get feedback!

Get Involved! Join the local green conversation, scheming and real gatherings. Follow KatonahGreen on

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Special Announcement: On January 23rd take advantage of a very special opportunity to learn directly from David Mathison, renowned new media consultant, former VP of Reuter’s News Agency and author of Be The Media in a special seminar arranged by Katonah Green and Really Social Strategies at the Katonah Library. Environmental activists need to learn how to REALLY leverage social media to spread the message and create behavioral change. We have the power in our hands. Register now.

Westchester Winter Farmer’s Markets

Michael Pollan says in a recent interview that we have three big crises to deal with: the energy crisis, the health care crisis and climate change. He says, “you can’t address any of these without addressing the way we are growing food and eating food. If you put aside we can’t address any of the other crises…Our food system is unsustainable.” You can listen to the interview here.

One of the first things we can do is to start getting to know our regional producers. It’s a bit difficult in the winter, but you start at winter indoor farmer’s markets in the region. Find out who is growing with organic, non-fossil fuel dependent practices. Consider that the vendors are bringing food from within a 100 mile region, rather than the 5,000 mile + that much of the food comes from in a supermarket. Here are a few markets to start with in Westchester County. If you live elsewhere and are reading this blog, first, a big thanks! Secondly, check out www.LocalHarvest.com for farms and markets near you.

Gossett’s Indoor Winter Farmer’s Market, Every Saturday, 9-1, 1202 Rte 35, South Salem, NY. • fresh produce • grass-fed meats • artisan bread • organic coffee •  baked goods • pickles • wine • seafood • handcrafts • local honey and jams • weekly foodie and educational events sponsored by Slow Food Westchester and Katonah Green This weekend, Jan 2: Heather Flournoy teaches you how to make immune boosting winter drinks, and special guest Annmarie Gianni from The Renegade Health Show will be there to catch up with local fans, show us her new organic skin care line and do facials!

Westchester County Center Farmer’s Market on Sunday, Jan. 3, Feb. 7, March 7, March 14 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., in White Plains.  Parking at the County Center lot is $4. Click for parking coupon . The Westchester County Center is located at 198 Central Park Avenue in White Plains, at the junction of the Bronx River Parkway and Tarrytown Road (Route 119)

Cold Spring Farmers Market: Saturday, 8:30am – 1:30pm Philipstown Community Center, 107 Glenclyffe Dr. @ Rte 9D, Cold Spring. December – May

Blue Stone Barns Winter Farmers Market: Sunday January 17th, Feb. 21, March 21, April 18 from 1 – 4PM.  Shop for winter vegetables, pastured meats and fresh eggs in our Hay Barn! Red Barn Bakery and Red Jacket Orchards will also join this month’s Winter Farm Market. Located in Pocantico Hills, NY. Website here.

Community Market’s Indoor Farmer’s Markets

For updates, news and schedules, click here

Mt Kisco: The Boys and Girls Club of Northern Westchester, 351 Main St., Mt. Kisco, NY 10549
Grand Opening: Saturday, January 9th 9am-1pm

Briarcliff: Briarcliff Congregational Church, 30 S State Rd., Briarcliff Manor, NY 10510
Grand Opening: Saturday, January 9th 9am-1pm

Mamaroneck: St Thomas’ Episcopal Church, 168 W Boston Post Rd., Mamaroneck, NY 10543
Grand Opening: Saturday, January 9th 9am-1pm

Katonah-Lewisboro: John Jay High School, 60 N Salem Rd., Cross River, NY 10518
Grand Opening: Saturday, January 9th 9am-1pm

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Happy New Year!

As John Lennon wrote: “Another year over, And a new one just begun,…I hope you have fun…And a happy New Year, Let’s hope it’s a good one, Without any fear.”

What are your goals for 2010?

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Local Food Local Chef’s Demonstrations

Do Something Just a Little Radical for Christmas! Ideas #2 and #3: The Gift of Time and Being Quiet

Winter Solstice Bonfire at Ward Pound Ridge Reservation

Today marks the winter solstice, when the days begin to lengthen, bit by bit. Last night a number of local people celebrated the longest night of the year at Ward Pound Ridge Reservation with a potluck and bonfire. It was a magical night, merry with eats and drinks, and  the Hudson Valley’s storyteller, Jonathan Kruk telling Promethean stories around a crackling, then roaring bonfire. Candles in paper bags lit the snowy paths, and inside the parks’ art gallery Ralph Szur  and Chris Lawlor played fiddle tunes while people shared food, hot cocoa, and spirits with a celebratory air. Simple. Merry. Comraderie.  Pleasurable. Relaxed. Festive.

And there was not one wrapped gift exchanged, no overplayed digital Christmas tunes, and no dried fruit cake was forced down anyones throats. No one dressed fancy and no priest was present to enforce any religious views, and yet a sense of gratitude and spirituality prevailed. How did we get fooled into believing that the holidays that surround the winter solstice, Christmas and Hannakah, were by necessity filled with obligatory visits, heedless buying, canned music, and an accepted level of stress? What is it that has convinced people that they need to BUY new things for other people at Christmastime? Do something a little bit radical for this holiday season: Just say “NO!”

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Here are ideas #2 and #3 in the Do Something Just a Little Radical for Christmas series:

1: was Ditch the Wrapping paper

2: is The Gift of Time: For the people closest to you in life,  express love and appreciation by spending precious time with them, instead of giving material gifts. If you can’t do it this year, make an agreement to do it next year. Find out what would make everyone most peaceful and fulfilled after the holiday, and full of energy for the new year, rather than exhausted and drained after the holiday. Now that’s a radical change for most people!

3: Be Quiet: this one might be a little too radical for many of you, but is one of my favorites! Imagine if around the world, all those who celebrate Christmas set aside one hour of that day, and was simply, utterly quiet? Imagine 5 hours! It would be revolutionary. All electronics off. No phones, no radio, no ipods, no TV, no computers. Just exist in your space, awake, for an hour, conscious that people everywhere are doing the same. Wouldn’t that be amazing? The national energy consumption would fall drastically! Stress levels would drop. People might actually have time to notice each other in a whole new way. Join me in starting a new tradition!

Now if we could add turning out the lights to that…

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Get involved!

Check out the Katonah Green Calendar on the left hand side of the blog.

• Get up-to-the minute eco and social media news: Follow me on Twitter
• Meet like-minded local people who care about the environment: join the Meetup group
• Join the conversation: KatonahGreen on Facebook

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Do Something Just a Little Radical for Christmas! Idea #1: Ditch the Wrapping Paper

Try using found patterned cloth instead of wrapping paper. Re-use is by far the best way to stop waste!

This evening I had a Skype conference chat with two really creative people I know, Suzanne Rex and Anna Flournoy, who are also motivated to try to save this endangered planet of ours. I suggested we all do something a little radical this Christmas. We’re going to share our ideas over the next 9 days.

Our first idea is to ditch the obsession with wrapping papers. We went online and found these statistics, which I hope make you think before purchasing wrapping paper ever again:

Each year in the United States, 4 million tons go from logs to landfills to make wrapping paper and holiday shopping bags, according to the Clean Air Council. Washington Post article, 2008

Household waste jumps an astounding 25 percent between Thanksgiving and the New Year, according to the EPA. That excess “25 percent” totals 1 million tons of trash.

Alternatives to Wrapping Paper

Suzanne suggests making your own wrapping paper using a read newspaper or other recycled materials. She also suggests wrapping things in old boxes or cartons…found objects in your home. (glass jars, funky boxes)

Anna suggested splatter-painted newspaper (watercolor, acrylic, or dyes). And she’s done some beautiful ones that people have hardly wanted to open for not wanting to damage her works of art! She also suggests using  a cool shirt or tshirt found at a thrift store,  especially stores that benefit shelters or other non profits. She cuts the pretty patterned or sparkly cloth and wraps with it, tying it off with cloth ribbon, also plentiful at thrift stores. Her final suggestion is to gather  random papers and decorate with inspirational quotes written in marker.   

My suggestion is to start saving bows, ribbons and neatly folded, carefully removed gift wrapping paper this year. To that, Suzanne added that, “This is what my brother does,  and people every year look forward to the ritual….He waits until someone opens their package, and then he grabs the wrapping paper and wraps his present.  He throws on some twine or duct tape and voila!”

Hooray for Suzanne’s brother! He makes it fun to defy a silly, yet widely adhered to tradition. Tell me what you do!

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Get involved!

Check out the Katonah Green Calendar on the left hand side of the blog.

Come on out to to the Local Guys Cook Series at Gossett’s Indoor Farm Market, this Saturday! You’ll always find me there!

• Get up to the minute eco and social media news: Follow me on Twitter
• Meet like-minded local people who care about the environment: join the Meetup group
• Join the conversation: KatonahGreen on Facebook

How Gas Drilling in the Catskills Affects Bedford Water Supply

Bedford and other Westchester towns are planning on obtaining water from the Delaware Aqueduct, a water source which is about to be contaminated for the next 1,000 years.  “It is in fact, only an essentially permanent repercussion we’re talking about,“ said Howard Fifer, Katonah resident as we sat talking this morning at Perks coffee shop with Diane Lewis. Right now is our chance to stop this contamination from happening.

Diane is a writer for The Record Review and you can pick up this week’s paper to get her article which explains the full implications of the looming gas drilling  scheduled to begin soon in the Marcellus Shale region which extends from NY to VA.

Diane is passionate about protecting Katonah/Bedford water. She says,

“Yes, I would like everyone to know about and be active in protesting hydrofracking in New York State. New York is our state, and we need to protect the water and forest land in this state.  We are fortunate to have had this land protected at the turn of the century providing NYC with perhaps the best municipal water supply in the country.  Water is the most precious resource, to squander it would be both foolish and unconscionable.  NYC is unique to have water and a bread basket in such proximity-we need to protect it. “

Further, she explains that if allowed to proceed, this drilling will pollute the water in the Delaware Aqueduct .  This Aqueduct brings water to a number of Westchester towns and Bedford is planning to obtain water from this Aqueduct to supply the hamlets of Katonah and Bedford Hills.

She continues to explain what hydrofracking exactly is. (what great conversations we have over coffee at Perks!)  Energy companies are seeking permits to drill for natural gas.  The shale they want to drill in is deep, and the drilling once at this depth is lateral.  This requires about 1 mill gall of water per well, mixed with sand and petrochemicals for lubrication and to prevent corrosion.  The wastewater is then polluted with these chemicals and what are called radioactive norms.  That means normally occuring radioactive material.  It is normal at that depth, but an extreme hazard when brought to the surface.

The area they plan to drill in extends broadly from the Catskill region west, encompassing a large amount of NYS that would be polluted and deforested.

For a diagram of hydrofracking and further explanation of the NYS department of Health’s concerns over hydrofracking, and some of the other issues involved, visit this online article from site, and also the EARTHJUSTICE website.

What you can do:

1. Send in comments on the DSGEIS.  (generic environmental impact statement) The public comment timeframe has just been extended to December 31st, so that gives just another couple of weeks. Click here to submit comments.

2. Ask your federal representatives to co-sponsor the FRAC Act,which eliminates the Halliburton loophole in the Safe Drinking Water Act and requires disclosure of the chemicals used for hydraulic fracturing.  For Katonah, email Representative John Hall here.

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Get involved! Come on out to to the Local Guys Cook Series at Gossett’s Indoor Farm Market, Saturdays in December!

Want to learn how to most effectively promote your cause? Come to Be the Media talk at the Ridgefield Library, Saturday, Dec 12th.

Want to learn how to utilize social media to convey your  message, or promote your small business? Join me at the Katonah Library, Sunday, Dec 13th with guest speaker David Mathison, former VP of Reuters, and author of Be the Media.

Join the local KatonahGreen conversation on Facebook or on Twitter!

Two Fantastic Stuffing Recipes

If you want Stovetop stuffing, read no further! But if you want stuffings that are the highlight of your meal Thursday, try one of these. The first recipe is from a friend, another from me.

Wild Black and Red Rice Stuffing

this recipe is from Howard Fifer (thanks for sharing the idea over coffee at Perks on Sunday!) He makes this ahead of time, puts into a glass baking dish, then heats it on Thanksgiving day, letting it brown just a tad on top before serving. This is a perfect dish if you are serving someone who requires a gluten-free dish, or is vegetarian. I’m tempted to stop by for leftovers…

Ingredients:

My Favorite Holiday

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. I love to cook with people, make big farm-style meals and have time to eat and talk for hours.  I was lucky to have grown up with California cattle ranchers as a very young child, and later with New York farmers (and a few hippies) who grew organic produce for a road-side stand, baked bread for the whole family and made a huge Thanksgiving dinner every year. My grandmother would bake for days, and I can almost smell the apple and pumpkin pies…

I still find it amazing that she cooked with such love and caring and dedication. Our Thanksgiving dinners were really something to inspire gratitude. We knew she had grown the hubbard squash, and that the pie crust was hand rolled and carefully cut into lattice.