By Rachel Tieger, TEAC Co-Chair

On Sunday June 25th, TEAC (Tarrytown Environmental Advisory Council) and SHEAC (Sleepy Hollow Environmental Action Committee) joined forces for our first community compost giveback day at John Paulding School. It was an event to be remembered with kids of all ages getting dirty (digging in the compost heap), speeches from public officials, a plant exchange, games, and demonstrations. The weather gods smiled upon us and there was an overall feeling of community spirit in the air.

We were honored with visits from NY State Senator and Majority Leader Andrea Stuart Cousins, NYS Assemblymember Mary Jane Schimsky, County Executive George Latimer, Sleepy Hollow Major Martin Rutnya, Tarrytown Village Trustee David Kim and the TUFSD Assistant Superintendent Brian Fried among many community members, volunteers and local heroes.

The Villages purchased 10 cubic yards of compost from Sustainable Materials Management Inc in Cortlandt, NY who processes our food scraps, and residents were invited to take 2 buckets per household. Bucket sizes and vessel types varied vastly, so it was interesting to see what people came with. 

Thanks to all of the hard work and collaboration of SHEAC, TEAC, the school district and the Villages, the event was a huge success!

Leaves of a healthy sycamore tree emerge from the top of a tree tube. The planting, at Tarrytown Lakes, is part of a joint project of TEAC, Tarrytown and Trees For Tribs. The trees were planted in October 2022.

Time to check in on the plantation!
 
It’s been nine months since TEAC and the Village teamed with New York DEC's Trees for Tribs program to plant over 100 trees and shrubs at Tarrytown Lakes. In a barren patch of land next to Tarrytown’s lower (larger) lake, volunteers planted and staked a mini-forest of tree tubes, each containing a native shrub or tree sapling.
 

Planting trees at the Tarrytown Lakes site in October, 2022.

With the 2023 growing season well underway and the benefit of a rainy couple of weeks, I wanted to see how the plantation was coming along.
 
Great, it turns out. We did a mini-survey and found only one shrub – a beach plum --to be unviable. Another tree was lost to the toppling of its tube and stake. But the rest were leafed out and growing!

Some trees -- sycamores, willows -- are growing faster than others, already reaching the tops of their tubes. 


Tree saplings growing (see the leaves?) inside protective tree tubes. 

We were also happy to see new plants emerging, naturally and unplanned, from the ground surrounding the tree tubes. Native sassafras was sprouting everywhere. Better yet, strong stalks of milkweed appeared ready to bloom and host monarch caterpillars.
 
Not so good are the invasives, sprouting from long-lived seed banks: the graveyard weed (cypress spurge), poison-to-fish mullein, lots of poison ivy and ground-covering grape which can quickly boost itself up on growing saplings, even inside the tree tubes. Ailanthus is also erupting everywhere.


Beneath the tree tubes, native milkweed (foreground) grows in a patch of frilly cypress spurge ("graveyard weed") and poison ivy.


 Deep in the tube: a healthy, leafy dogwood.

It will be another four years – at least – before the tubes can come off and the shrubs and trees can really show their stuff. When that happens, beach plums and serviceberry trees will bear edible fruit; red oaks, sycamore and sugar maple will provide shade, white pine will offer winter interest. Leaves will cool the area over the lake and give shade and cover to water creatures. And underground and out of sight, plant roots will filter runoff from Neperan Road and phosphorous from nearby lawn fertilizers.
 
Not too much to ask from this one little plot of land just alongside a busy road.
 
The Trees for Tribs plantation at Tarrytown Lakes has succeeded because of the attention given to it by the Village: watering, mulching and re-staking the tree tubes as needed. Thank you!

As summer arrives we all crave beautiful flowers and lush greenery in our gardens and yards. When visiting local nurseries we are confronted with a plethora of plants that will provide great visuals but we need to look a little deeper before we choose plants for our landscapes.

Many of the plants in local nurseries are non native exotics coming from other parts of the world. These plants do not support our local wildlife and ecosystems and many can become invasive.



The Porcelain berry, English ivy and Asian Bittersweet that are smothering trees and crowding out native plants all over our area were sold as decorative ornamentals to homeowners.  Miscanthus and fountain grasses are taking over our wetland areas crowding out cattails and other native grasses.

There are many beautiful underused native plants that will provide beauty and support biodiversity. These low maintenance natives have evolved to live in our region’s soil and climate. Once established they are drought tolerant and require no fertilizing or pesticide use saving time and money. They support pollinators, birds and other wildlife bringing natural beauty to your home. Native plants have deep roots that stabilize the soil and prevent erosion.

Choose natives, it’s a win win!

Ditch the daylilies for blanket flowers, butterfly milkweed or Black Eyed Susans, all tough long blooming natives in an orange and yellow palette that support a variety of wildlife.

Instead of the ubiquitous hosta choose deer resistant wild ginger (photograph above) or Solomon’s Seal, two far more interesting choices.

Please check out this link for a detailed chart of great native choices to replace common exotics.

Don’t Plant These Invasive Exotics