Celebrating Earth Month!!
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By Jenny O'Connor, TEAC member.
Photos by Suzy Allman, TEAC member

April was a wonderful month of activities celebrating Earth Day in Tarrytown!

During Earth Month, we:

• explored trails by the lakes and learned about native trees, invasive species, birds, and some of Tarrytown’s history.
• cleaned up trash, debris and invasive vines across the village, in neighborhoods, parks, schools and around the lakes.
• Planted native seeds and gardens;
• hosted Tarrytown’s first Repair Cafe, helping community members fix household and personal items, and avoiding increased waste being sent to  the incinerator (aka waste to energy plant).  
• learned about the nasty lifecycle of plastics in a film screening of The Story of Plastic.
• hosted a Clothing and Household Swap, where people donated gently used items and “shopped” for “new” items to take home. 

Thank you to all of the people who volunteered! We had hundreds of children, adults and community members join us throughout the month. 

Thank you to the Hackley Lake Keepers, Repair Cafe of Hudson Valley, the Neighborhood House, Girl Scouts, Eric Stone from the Rewilding School, the Horsemen PTA, MOMs Organic Market, the volunteer Arborist, the Village of Tarrytown, community leaders and fellow TEAC members who organized, supported and led events.

What an amazing tribute to our village and earth! Your support is a testament that we can truly save the earth, one village at a time.

An early bird watch at Tarrytown Lakes kicked off events on the official, annual Earth Day. 


Tarrytown Mayor Karen Brown and Rich Slingerland pitch in with an EF student to keep a Neperan Road parking lot clean.


The hiking crew stops for a rest along the newly-blazed red trail, in the Glenville Woods.


The busy scene at the computer and electrical tables at the Repair Cafe....


...while the kids were kept busy at TEAC's arts and crafts table.


At Neperan Park, a native seed giveaway and information table


Taking a break from all that cleaning up!


Volunteers moved mulch into pollinator planting beds in Neperan  Park.


TEAC member Cathy Ruhland leads an invasive species identification walk through the thoroughly-invaded Tarrytown Lakes Park.


TEAC Co-Chair Rachel Tieger, left, sets a volunteer up with a hi-viz vest and a trash picker in Patriots Park.


Volunteers renovate a former rain garden in Neperan Park, planting a variety of pollinators.


Cattails are an important resource to local birds during nest-building season. Eric Stone, from the Rewilding Institute, explains cattail significance to participants in the early-morning bird walk at Tarrytown Lakes.

By Dean Gallea, TEAC Co-Chair

Last month, members of SHEAC and TEAC were joined by other community members for a guided tour of the WinWaste waste-to-energy (WtE) facility in Peekskill – formerly known as Wheelabrator, and now operated by Waste Innovations, which operates many other facilities across the Northeast. We wanted to see for ourselves where all our non-recyclable trash goes, and what becomes of it. 

Our tour started with an overview of the operation of the complex facility, then we donned hardhats and other protective gear for a walk through the lower levels of the plant, starting with the huge indoor floor where trucks dump Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) collected from municipalities around the County. We were told that staff inspect each load to be sure it contains little or no recyclable plastic or metal containers, and reject some loads that have too much material that can be better handled without burning.

Smells are reduced by pumping fresh air through the collection area and into three huge furnaces that burn off all the combustibles at temperatures up to 2500 degrees F. 

The process is carefully controlled to minimize residual ash, a combination of heavy bottom ash, processed to remove recyclable metals, and lighter fly ash, processed to remove potential toxins. The fly ash is collected in huge filter bags, much like a vacuum cleaner does, leaving the remaining exhaust gas very low in particulates as it leaves the facility’s “smoke” stack. We didn’t see any smoke, though there are other invisible products of combustion including CO2 and NOx, as with any combustion of organic material, that get released into the environment. 

The remaining ash, which is only about 10% of the original volume of trash, is then brought to a special landfill in Connecticut, since NY law doesn’t permit bottom ash to be used as a building or paving material as is sometimes done elsewhere. 

Here’s an explainer from the U.S. government that does a good job of showing the design of a WtE plant like ours: https://www.eia.gov/energyexplained/biomass/waste-to-energy-in-depth.php 

The enormous heat produced in the combustion process is not wasted: One of the main functions of WtE facilities is to capture the heat in water boilers to drive electric generation, producing 60 megawatts of power into the ConEd grid. That’s enough to power more than 10,000 homes. Further, some of the lower-pressure steam that exits the generator is sold to the White Plains Linen company in Peekskill for heat and fabric processing, reducing their energy needs.

According to WinWaste, their residual stack emissions are below EPA limits. However given Environmental Justice concerns, some local citizen groups are lobbying to have the facility shut down. And yet, landfilling is fraught with its own environmental concerns, such as odors, release of methane (50 times as harmful as CO2) that escapes capture, and the need for huge land areas that will likely never be usable for anything else. Landfills in populous areas are often sited near disadvantaged neighborhoods, such as the notorious Fresh Kills in Staten Island. The closest existing usable landfill is hundreds of miles away, so there is a large transportation cost as well.

The best scenario is that we continue to reduce our waste, through sustainable packaging, re-use and recycling, food-scrap composting, and extended producer responsibility (EPR), requiring those companies creating waste devise ways to reduce and recycle, rather than burdening consumers. For us, whatever we can do to reduce the amount of plastic (and synthetic fabric) we buy and increase the amount that gets reused or recycled is a win for us and our environment. 

We look forward to the development of curbside food-scrap collection, and tightened regulations on plastic packaging. And we appreciate the level of public (and volunteer) participation we’ve had in our Repair Café and Clothing and Housewares Swap events – we will continue these Zero-Waste efforts to keep things from becoming trash!

We are excited to announce that Tarrytown will install four new pollinator gardens this spring as well as adding plantings along our central business corridors on Broadway and Main Streets.

This will be a big step forward in expanding our Village’s pollinator pathway to help our threatened pollinators, bees, butterflies and birds, survive and thrive. We need your help to make this happen.

Please sign up today to help plant and maintain one or more of these gardens. It’s a great way to make a difference in the community, learn about sustainable gardening and connect with great people.

Any amount of time that you can contribute will truly make a difference!

Let’s Start Planting!

Scroll down to pick your planting location.

Gracemere Garden Install

Thursday, May 11, 9:30 am - 11:30 am

Gracemere Pollinator Garden will be located at the entrance to the Gracemere estate on South Broadway directly across from Lyndhurst. A 360 sq ft native garden will add natural beauty to this historic landmark location.

SignUp for Gracemere Install Here!

Sarah Michaels Pollinator Garden Install

Friday May 12, 9:30am -11:30am

We are expanding our Sarah Michaels Garden located at 1 River Plaza, 10591 to add 300 sq ft of beautiful pollinator habitat to the existing garden. This garden is enjoyed by residents and visitors walking and driving by busy lower Main St.

SignUp for Sarah Michaels Install Here!

Neperan Park Milkweed Patch Plus Install

Saturday, May 13, 9:30am - 12:30pm

TEAC, Little Gardens of the Tarrytowns and the Parks Dept. are collaborating to install a 1400 sq ft native garden in Neperan Park, 43-61 Neperan Road in Tarrytown. Neperan Park is a hidden gem, a neighborhood hilltop park with views of the Hudson and existing pollinator gardens planted by Little Gardens over the years.

SignUp for Neperan Park Install Here!

Metro North Railroad Station Install

Saturday, May 20, 9:30am -12:30pm

Tarrytown’s Metro North Train Station, located at 1 Depot Plaza, is the transportation hub of our Village welcoming  residents and visitors alike. The Station will now welcome biodiversity with the planting of a beautiful native perimeter garden and tree well spaces.

SignUp for MNR Station Install Here!

A "keystone" tree species, the red oak is a native species that has co-evolved with the plants and animals around it. It provides exciting fall foliage, as well.


Did you know that there is one tree species that supports over 500 different animals, feeding them and allowing them to survive?

Oak trees, along with native willows, birches, black cherries, pines, crabapples and poplars support the most butterfly and moth caterpillars, which in turn feed baby birds and other animals.

These are our local keystone/ powerhouse plants that support 75% of caterpillars and native bees!

Keystone species are native species that play a critical role in maintaining the balance of their ecosystem. They have a disproportionate effect on the structure and function of their ecological community. Without keystone species, the ecosystem would be dramatically different or cease to exist altogether. 

We should care about keystone species because they play a crucial role in maintaining the ecological health and resilience of their environment. When keystone species are lost or removed, it can have cascading effects throughout the ecosystem, leading to a decline in biodiversity, changes in nutrient cycling, and other negative impacts.

Keystone species are always native to each region and have co-evolved with the plants and animals around them. But when we import plants — most often from Asia — the local insects can’t handle the chemical defenses in those non-native plants. Non-native plants just sit there, not contributing to the local food web. 

Bear oak, another "keystone" species, works for small spaces in your garden.

The oak tree is one of the important keystone species of the North East US. The oak is a keystone species that serves as the backbone of its ecosystem. It provides shade and furnishes a habitat for hundreds of living organisms, including mammals, birds, insects, and other plants. Oaks support more caterpillar species than any other genus of plants in North America — not to mention all the animals that eat acorns. Dr. Doug Tallamy, a renowned entomologist and advocate for native gardening, has written a must-read book about Oaks that explains the complex relationships that trees have with their ecosystem – “Nature of Oaks.”   According to Dr. Tallamy, if you take the keystone plant out of the local food web, the food web collapses.

In his research, Dr. Tallamy has found that in 84 percent of the counties in North America, oaks are the most productive trees when it comes to producing food.  Additionally, about 5% of North America’s native plants make 75% of the food. Oak leaves are also a great source of nutrients for your lawn. All the leaves that fall on your property should stay on your property, Dr. Tallamy says. Oak leaves are holds of nutrients, and when they decompose they return those nutrients to the soil to be taken up again by oaks and other plants. Raking and removing leaves will remove those nutrients from the nutrient cycle, and it also kills the many insects that overwinter in leaf litter, including the 70 species of moths that eat dead oak leaves.

The Tree Commission and the Village of Tarrytown will be giving away these majestic oaks as well as other keystone and native species of trees at the TASH Mothers Day Market on May 13. 

Will you be good stewards of this Earth and plant an oak or another native tree ?

Some trees available at the Mothers Day Market on May 13: 

Red Oak (Quercus rubra) grows up to 100 feet
Bear Oak (Quercus ilicifolia) tops out at only 12-20 feet 
Black Oak (Quercus nigra) grows up to 50-80 feet
Pussy willow (Salix discolor) around 15 feet tall

By Barbara Goodman-Barnett, TEAC Member

It is no secret that Joshua Tree National Park in California is a breathtaking natural desert consisting of almost 800,0000 acres of natural beauty.

It is characterized by spectacular rock formations as well as dramatic desert landscapes and named for the Joshua Tree (yucca brevifolia) which can be seen poking up and dominating the region.

If you visit Joshua Tree, California there is a hidden gem that is definitely worth seeking out. The Noah Purifoy Outdoor Desert Museum of Assemblage Art is located in an isolated area on the outskirts of Joshua Tree. Inspired by Southern California’s landscape and culture Noah Purifoy, an African-American artist created sculptures utilizing found objects.


Noah Purifoy's "Ode To Frank Gehry", in The Noah Purifoy Outdoor Desert Museum of Assemblage Art. Photo: ipernity.com

Some of his best work was made out of charred debris salvaged from the 1965 Watts riots. During that time Purifoy worked to introduce art programs into local communities and prisons.

In the late 1980’s he relocated to the desert where he spent the last 15 years of his life creating his “magnum opus” which consists of installations spanning over 10 acres of red sandy earth in the Mojave Desert.

The museum contains over 100 works of art mainly large scale environmental assemblages. Found objects include toilet bowls, tires, folding chairs, discarded televisions, outdated computers, corrugated metal, ladders, wood, aluminum, cafeteria trays, tires, vacuum cleaners, ragged clothes, rejected office equipment and bowling balls.

Severe desert climates and native flora of the Joshua trees, cholla cactus and yucca speed up the weathering of these found materials and objects adding spice and character to the sculptures.

The installations embedded in this barren, desert environment evoke an atmosphere that is both meditative and apocalyptic. 

Noah Purifoy sits atop one of his creations. Photo: Noah Purifoy Foundation

The site is open all day and is free to the public (although donations are encouraged), but you can also schedule a one-hour group tour or a private tour with a docent. Pro tips: Visit as early as possible or at sundown to avoid the scorching heat and experience the place at its most picturesque. ‘Bring water and watch out for snakes’

By Annie Kravet, TEAC member

Sustainable Living Book Recommendation: “Go Gently: Actionable Steps to Nurture Yourself and the Planet” by Bonnie Wright  


 
If you’re looking for a little inspiration and some doable steps to take towards living more sustainability, Bonnie Wright’s book “Go Gently: Actionable Steps to Nurture Yourself and the Planet” is a great reference.

Although she may be best known for playing the role of Ginny Weasley in the Harry Potter movies, Bonnie Wright is also a big advocate for environmental activism and living a sustainable lifestyle.

Something I really enjoyed about this book is that it focuses both on taking small steps at home (like changing from disposable coffee filters to a homemade reusable filter) and also different ways to get involved in the community in ways that feel right and doable to you.

All aspects of daily life are covered, including food, clothing, daily habits to connect with nature, mending, DIY, finding your place in the climate movement, and more.

I especially liked a part of the book with ideas on how to have a plastic free picnic. Some nice inspiration going into summer!

This book is available through the Westchester Library system. 
 
You can also check out Bonnie’s website here: https://www.gogently.earth/
Her YouTube channel “Go Gently” is another great resource: https://www.youtube.com/@gogently2333

BY KEVIN LUSTYIK, Tarrytown Harbor Master

The waterfront of Tarrytown has seen many major changes in the past 100 years. The most dramatic changes took place closest to the shoreline.


The Tarrytown waterfront in the 1940s.

For example, near the H-bridge ramp (constructed in 1924), there was a road on the west side, running north to south, named Railroad Ave, complete with businesses under the ramp.

If you look at West Main St on an early map, you will see that this is where the Tarrytown Nyack Ferry once landed. The earlier car ferry originated by the old Frank’s Fuel jetty, south of Horan’s landing.

West Main St contained many businesses years ago, including Tensolite Wire, The American Toy Scenery Company, C&C Trucking, and Barrier Oil on what was called Lower Main Street.

Just to the north was Anchor Motor Freight (the company that carried all of the GM plant’s car production) and further to the west was County Asphalt, owned by the Cooney family. Other businesses included Westchester Conduit, NY Trap Rock, Appalachian Stone, Allegany Aggregates, and various renters like West Con Concrete, just to name a few.

The docking spaces took on many barge-loads of aggregate, sand, road oil, and all types and sizes of stone supporting the asphalt and concrete industries. The water channel (10-feet deep at low tide) from the Tappan Zee Bridge to the dock, has since silted in. All of the aforementioned land is now Hudson Harbor.

Frank’s Fuel was a fuel dispensary receiving barge-loads of oil and gasoline to their fuel farm. Included were the different types of oil, heating, diesel, #4 and #6 bunker oil, and kerosene.


Pierson Park from WIBC lot looking north, 1959. Taken by Mr Paul Wheatley.

Along the waterfront to the south of West Main Street was Pierson Park, a place where Anchor Motor stored trucks and trailers (today it is Pilla Landing.) Just to the east was the Tarrytown sewer plant. In the 1950s, this was an island as there was only a small access road cutting across where the ferry slip was. Today, it contains the fitness center, senior center, and parking for both.


Aerial view of the Tarrytown sewer plant, 1940. Ferry slip and inner harbor in the foreground which ran eastward as one body of water. Notice boats tied to the NW shoreline of what would later become Andre brook.

The path of Andre Brook west of the ramp did not exist, instead emptying directly into the Hudson River where boats were moored up against the east side of the Pierson Park island. This parcel is the northernmost commuter lot adjacent to Green Street today.

At the beginning of the current south side of West Main Street was the Tarrytown DPW garage, constructed in the late 1980s and later relocated to its current location.

Just west of this parcel was the Tarrytown Yacht Club, established about 1900. Prior to 1959, there was only a narrow roadway on the west side, close to the tracks running north-south. The Club was accessed by a pedestrian trestle pier over the water.


Looking eastward from Tarrytown boat club docks, ca 1958. Notice Franklin Courts behind the freight cars.

Boats were moored where the Basher Ballfield now exists. In 1959, numerous wooden barges were floated into this land and grounded. The entire parcel was then filled and was a Tarrytown Landfill from 1959 to 1970. 


View from Tarrytown Boat Club shop looking south. Notice that boats are parked in what is now the Basher ballfield.

In 1977, a contract was awarded to construct a ballfield, which was completed in 1978. Adjacent to the ballfield and running south is Green Street (named after Tarrytown Mayor Green) that terminates at the Washington Irving Boat Club. This Club occupies the southern tip of the land. This was the construction site for the original Tappan Zee Bridge, completed in 1955 by Ambridge (a division of US Steel) and builders Merritt Chapman and Scott.

There is certainly a lot more “green space” to maintain today, which is a good thing, but more work for the TEAC team, which always does a fine job.

Garlic mustard (Alliaria petiolata) is an aggressive, destructive and widely-spread invasive plant in most of the US with no natural enemies. It is toxic or not edible to our pollinators and it crowds out native plants. The plant hails from Europe and Asia and was brought to the states for herbal and medicinal uses, as well as for erosion control.

The bright side is that it is easy to pull out (roots in tact) and it is edible.

Every individual can help eradicate or at least tame the spread of garlic mustard in their community. The key is to remove every plant within sight for three years in a row.

In the spring, you can eat portions of young plants including flowers, leaves and tender upper stems. The rest of the plant should be bagged, sealed and thrown away with the trash. They should NOT be composted!

The silver lining is the leaves and flowers make tasty pesto or simple stir fry to replace bitter greens like broccoli rabe or chard.

Garlic Mustard Pesto

8 cups firmly packed garlic mustard leaves and tips, loosely chopped

1/3 cup nutritional yeast

1/4 cup pine nuts (lightly tasted for added flavor)

½ -1 cup extra virgin olive oil drizzle in until you get the desired consistency 

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 juiced lemon 

Dash or two of cayenne or red pepper flakes (optional)

2-3 tablespoons cold water as needed for consistency (optional)

Method:
Put all ingredients except the water in large food processor bowl (or break into batches if using a blender or bullet). Start with a half cup of oil and add more oil and/or a couple of tablespoons of cold water until you get the desired texture. Note,  the more stems you use, the chunkier and more fibrous your pesto will be. Taste your final product and adjust the seasoning as needed. Some garlic mustard is more bitter than others so some recipes call for a teaspoon of sugar.

Enjoy!


This garlic mustard plant was pulled up in the Tarrytown Lakes Park during TEAC's invasive species walk for Earth Month. When harvesting, make sure you uproot the entire plant, so it can't spread its demon seed for years to come.