|
Our Green Team convened for the first time in February 2020 and continues to make progress on diverse projects despite some challenges during the pandemic.
The Green Team's mission is to facilitate good stewardship of God’s earth within our congregation and community. We work to develop practical policies and activities to encourage participation in a daily sustainable lifestyle. We seek to inspire our community, to raise awareness, and to enhance engagement about environmental and climate change issues -- local, national, and global. For more info on how you can get involved email us at [email protected]! |
Pollinators and natives. The Green Team created a Pollinator and Native Garden in 2021. In place of grass, the gardens grow beautiful native plants that are lower-maintenance and attractive to local birds and other insect pollinators.
The church lawn is a large swath of non-native grass that sucks up lots of water; requires mowing, fertilizing, and maintenance; and creates a barren “food desert” for our native insects and birds, including critical pollinators, which are in serious decline locally and globally. Pollinators play a critical role in producing 1/3 of the food we eat each day, research shows.
Local landscape designer Jennifer Zwarich and professional gardener Kory Riesterer helped with specific plant choices and renderings of the three areas. Then the entire team got to work with plating and tending the gardens.
"This year of Covid was such a fallow time that the idea of this earth-friendly gardening project with new life and new beauty was very exciting!," says Rev. Rachel Thompson, Green Team Coordinator. "We are grateful to the Hudson River Presbytery for awarding us a Challenge-to-Change grant that is supported our pollinator garden project!"
The church lawn is a large swath of non-native grass that sucks up lots of water; requires mowing, fertilizing, and maintenance; and creates a barren “food desert” for our native insects and birds, including critical pollinators, which are in serious decline locally and globally. Pollinators play a critical role in producing 1/3 of the food we eat each day, research shows.
Local landscape designer Jennifer Zwarich and professional gardener Kory Riesterer helped with specific plant choices and renderings of the three areas. Then the entire team got to work with plating and tending the gardens.
"This year of Covid was such a fallow time that the idea of this earth-friendly gardening project with new life and new beauty was very exciting!," says Rev. Rachel Thompson, Green Team Coordinator. "We are grateful to the Hudson River Presbytery for awarding us a Challenge-to-Change grant that is supported our pollinator garden project!"
|
Worms and waste. Worms in a compost bin are great consumers of food waste," notes Rev. Rachel, "and they turn the food from your kitchen into excellent fertilizer!"
Green Team member Elise LaRocco is an experienced worm-bin composter and her daughter Allie LaRocco produced a 7-minute video about how to build a worm compost bin. The green team learned so much from the video. Neevertheless, the green team decided to utilize a new Philipstown composting program in the church which is working beautifully. You can join our Green Team! Your membership, ideas, and enthusiasm are welcome. To learn more, just email us at 1presbyterian @gmail.com. Other initiatives: In concert with the Deacons, the green team is fostering church practices to use with less paper products and, to the extent possible, only paper products made from recycled or sustainable materials. We are also recycling as much as we can, cutting out plastic use where we can. Let's GO GREEN at FPCP! |
Want to volunteer? Have a "green" idea to share? Contact us! Just fill in this handy form.