By Annie Kravet

Another step you can take is to reduce the amount of food that goes bad before you eat it! 

Here are some "best practice" tips to help keep food out of the waste cycle:

1. Store food properly 

Learning how to store food properly is a game changer. Did you know that clean, dry berries can last twice as long when stored in a glass jar with a lid? (Just make sure they are dry before storing them.) Herbs can be stored by wrapping them in a damp kitchen towel before placing them in the fridge. If your greens wilt after a day or two, try storing them in a damp kitchen towel and then closing them in a large tupperware container. Here’s a more extensive article on how to keep your produce fresh. 

2. Keep leftovers visible 

Store your leftovers near the front of the refrigerator so you remember to eat them before cooking a whole new meal. I have found it also helps to keep leftovers in clear glass jars or containers so I don’t forget what I have. Using a post-it to label your leftover with a date also helps reduce the chances of leaving them for too long.  

3. If it keeps going bad - stop buying it!

I decided to stop buying celery for a while because I always thought we would eat it, but more often than not it went bad and it ended up in the compost.

If you find you keep throwing away the same food at the end of the week, consider taking a break from buying it for a while or buying in smaller quantities. You can also make a soup, stew, sauce, dressing or smoothie with soft wilting veggies or fruits, as a last ditch effort to utilize them, depending on how far gone they are. 

PS - Compost Your Halloween Pumpkins!

Remember to compost your pumpkins! Now that Halloween is over, your Jack-o-Lanterns and other decorative gourds might not be looking good for much longer. Don’t let them end up in the incinerator/waste to energy plant! 

We are now in fall, and as peak leaf season approaches, it is a good time to evaluate our attitude toward leaves.

For many people leaves are a thing of beauty as long as they remain on trees, but once they fall to the ground they become public enemy #1.

This is truly unfortunate because fallen leaves along with perennial stalks, grasses and logs provide crucial winter housing for pollinators. Without protective shelter bees, butterflies and other small creatures cannot survive winter.

Just as we grow native plants to provide food for pollinators we must ensure that our wildlife has protective shelter for cold weather. Create habitat zones within your yard by leaving areas of fallen leaves, flower stalks, tall grasses, bamboo stakes and small branches and logs. Also leave some open spaces in the soil as native bees burrow underground to make their nests. These are all homes for wildlife. 

Leafcutter bee in stem cavity


Wooly bear (Isabella tiger moth) overwintering in log

Every time you choose a plant-based meal, know you are contributing to the greater good.  

PIN OAKS AND THE MAIN STREET TREESCAPE 

By Martin Hauser, Co-Chair, Tree Commission

The Tree Commission has received a number of inquiries about the Pin Oaks that have been taken down on North Broadway.

Unfortunately, these tall and beautiful trees were afflicted with an insect called the Oak Gall Wasp. A spectator may have observed browning branches and noticed that the sidewalk was always littered with fallen twigs and small branches.

We tried for many years to save them, using every means known to arboriculture. The Tree Commission includes two certified arborists whose experience and expertise always guide us in such matters. In the end, the trees couldn’t be rescued, and we reluctantly made the decision to take them down.

The Tree Commission received a grant from the New York State Urban Forestry Commission to plant three Redbud Trees as a backdrop to the Veterans Memorial in Patriots Park. These will be planted as part of the Veterans Day observances on Thursday, November 11th, this year. The Eastern Redbud tree (Cersis canadensis) is one of the most popular of our native trees. The brilliant magenta blossoms are a familiar sight in the spring and the heart-shaped leaves turn a bright yellow in autumn. In its winter array, the gray bark is decorated with maroon buds. We are very pleased that we were able to provide these trees as a tribute to those who served their country so bravely.

A continuing concern of the Tree Commission is the treescape on our beautiful Main Street. We are committed to creating and maintaining the greenest and leafiest Main Street we possibly can, not only for the health and enjoyment of our Tarrytown residents, but also for the many tourists, especially at this time of year.

This is not always an easy task; we take into account buried utilities, the needs of restaurateurs, and issues of accessibility, among other things. Since the summer, the Tree Commission and the Department of Public Works have done extensive surveys of the area between Broadway and Windle Park.

As of today, two new trees will be planted south of Washington Street, and a new project is under discussion for the front of the Fire House. Two locations on South Washington near Main Street are also being planned. Visit Tarrytown Village Tree Commission