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This month, leave those leaves in place (isn’t that why they’re called “leaves”?). Recycle those pumpkins, keep the meat out of your meals, and wise-up your home with an energy-smart project. Fall’s winding down but the TaSH keeps going, the perfect place to find your veggies. Oh! and join our online meeting Thursday evening, November 7 at 7:00! Details are below.
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TEAC serves at the pleasure of the Mayor and Board of Trustees of Tarrytown and we look forward to working with the new elected officials. Congrats and welcome!
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Our next meeting will be held via Zoom at 7pm, Thursday, November 4.
This month, we’ll hear from some of our committees: Lakes, Landscaping, Energy and Conservation, and Zero Waste.
If any of these committee topics interest you, please feel free to join us!
Zoom Link: CLICK HERE
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By Annie Kravet
With Thanksgiving right around the corner, what better time is there to talk about food waste?
Food waste is a big problem; most food waste ends up in landfills, where it emits methane gas. In Westchester County our waste is burned in a waste to energy plant otherwise known as an incinerator. Along with the beneficial “energy” which is produced, there are also byproducts like toxic ash, combustion gases, air pollutants, wastewater, wastewater treatment sludge, and heat.
One step you can take to stop this cycle is to compost your food scraps. You can simply collect your food scraps in your kitchen and dispose of them in the bins near parking lot F on the other side of the train tracks.
An alternative is to sign up for Hudson Compost Services and they will pick your food scraps up weekly.
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!
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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.
With a few exceptions — such as monarch butterflies — most of our bees and butterflies do not migrate; they are here amongst us burrowing in for winter. You may not see them until spring but they are here.
Bumble bee burrowing under leaves.
So let’s help them survive, leave areas of your property natural and beautiful. Gardens and yards are alive year round!
The XERCES Society has good info on creating winter habitat for pollinators. Above and below are some of their photos:
Leafcutter bee in stem cavity
Wooly bear (Isabella tiger moth) overwintering in log
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Happy World Vegan Month!
In November, we celebrate all who are making conscientious choices to create a greener, healthier, and kinder world for all! Even small actions like participating in Meatless Mondays or only eating a vegan diet on weekdays add up to make a difference for our environment.
Every time you choose a plant-based meal, know you are contributing to the greater good.
If you want to make the biggest environmental impact, fully give up animal products. If you are just starting out and you feel like you can use a little extra help figuring it all out, find yourself an experienced vegan that is willing to be your “mentor” to help answer any questions you may have. Their experience can provide the best product, recipe, and restaurant recommendations.
Also, there are many online and social media resources for information, recipes, support groups, and even fun social groups where you can learn about the best restaurants and vegan products that are available in your area. As always, your local library is a great place to try out new vegan cookbooks. The Warner Library in Tarrytown has a nice selection to choose from.
Autumn has us all in the mood for warm and cozy comfort food. Don’t let the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday feast sway you from your plant-based meal efforts. A Google search will provide you with vegan recipes for all kinds of traditional Thanksgiving dishes. Just add the word “vegan” next to the dish you want to make. (e.g. “Vegan Green Bean Casserole” or “Vegan Mashed Potatoes”) Often you can read reviews for the recipes so it’s not such a risk to try something new.
Here are a few of my Fall favorites that are perfect for Thanksgiving. Enjoy!
Real Food Daily’s Golden Gravy – This is so delicious; I want to put it on everything!
Roasted Brussels Sprouts & Butternut Squash with Cranberries and pecans – A gorgeous dish that will impress!
Cranberry Jalapeno Cream Cheese Dip – This recipe is so amazing and looks beautiful on the table. Don’t let the annoying ads on this website deter you from scrolling to the bottom for the recipe. I promise, it’s worth it! Just swap out the cream cheese for a vegan cream cheese to make it vegan. (Tofutti brand “Better than Cream Cheese” is my fave)
Cranberry Jalapeno Cream Cheese Dip. Photo: sparrowsandlily.com
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