Bay Community Garden Opens Memorial Weekend

Greetings Community Gardeners!

Preparations for the Bay Community Garden are well underway and garden plot assignments will be made as the community garden volunteers begin to stake-out the individual 4’ x 8’ plots this week. Square Foot Gardening will be the preferred method of planting with many great benefits including: efficient use of time with less work required, and increased harvest and water savings. The Bay Growing Guide is online and can be viewed on the city’s homepage at cityofbayvillage.com. The first 5-pages of the Guide give an explanation of this method in more detail. The Growing Guide also gives many examples of vegetables, spacing and planting within a square foot area.

Currently the garden area has been tilled—twice! The city has also dropped-off leaf humus at the site available for use by all to further assist in the conditioning of the soil beds. Remember, only organic fertilizers and compost may be used in the community garden – NO chemical fertilizers. The water department has been working to install a water meter at the site but we cannot guarantee that water will be available for the first week or so. A couple rain barrels will be placed in the garden for water collection; however, some may want to bring their own water until a spigot is installed at the site. The deer fencing has been ordered and will be up within the next 2 weeks. Also, each gardener is responsible for bringing their own tools which would include a shovel or spade, a hand trowel and fork, an unsharpened pencil, a layout of what will be planted and of course seeds/plants. And, a large bucket is helpful for transporting the humus to your garden plot.

Many varieties of summer vegetables seeds, seedlings and organic fertilizers are available locally at Cahoon Nursery, Canterbury Gardens and Landmark. Our local True Value carries a full-line of garden tools and organic fertilizers.

The garden will be open for soil preparation and/or planting this Memorial Day weekend. If you provided an email address when registering, you will receive an email informing you of your garden plot number no later than Saturday, May 29. Community garden volunteers will be giving a demonstration on Saturday morning, May 29^th at 10:30 a.m. on soil preparation and square foot planting. The grand opening will happen later this summer but for now… let’s start planting!

Thanks for making this a reality in Bay Village. We look forward to meeting you this summer at the Community Garden!

The Bay Village Green Team – Community Garden Committee

May 11 Meeting Minutes

The Community Garden is ready to launch—probably by the end of May if not sooner. Fifteen plots have been “purchased” including three churches. There was a second public meeting held yesterday at the LENSC—approximately 40 people attended, there was a great deal of interest and more applications for plots are expected. The Service center will do the first tilling this week, and the water meter will be installed. Maureen Nakonek from the Mayor’s office has volunteered to serve a secretary/treasurer—big thanks! There are many volunteer opportunities for people that want to get involved with the Community Garden, with a particular need for a volunteer(s) to set up and coordinate composting with local businesses.

The City has received approval from the SWD for a $927 grant to purchase indoor/outdoor recycle bins. The grant was written by the Green Team on behalf of the City. With the grant funds, the Service Center will be purchasing 24 indoor/outdoor bins that are identical to the ones in the Huntington Reservation Metro Park. The City plans to use the recycle bins throughout the parks in strategic locations, and they can be used for recycling at events such as Bay Days. The other grant for indoor bins submitted by the Mayor did not get approved, so this is great news!
Events Update:

· The Green Team sponsored a table at the Bike to School Safety Fair (April 29 6-9 PM at BMS).

· There was a Habitat for Humanity collection on April 15-17 organized by Jerry Jarc. Another collection will be scheduled in Fall.

· A book discussion on “Bottlemania” is being organized by Pam Defino from the Bay Library. The Green Team will be participating in the discussion, planned for Tuesday, July 13. The books are ready for pick up at the Library.

· The Green Team will have a booth at Bay Days—Saturday, July 3^rd --from 10 AM-6 PM (tentative hours). We plan to include a Compost Bin from the SWD to promote an upcoming Seminar on composting to be held in July. Warren Remein has volunteered to organize the compost seminar with the SWD. We are also looking for give-aways. Some ideas include t-shirts for kids to color with a Green message, pool passes, bike maps, and bike reflectors. We are looking for volunteers to set up and work the booth.

· Garlic Mustard Pulls were held on April 26 (Cahoon sled hill) and May 1 (Wischmeyer Creek @ Wolf and Glen Park)—150 pounds of Garlic Mustard was collected!

· The Mayor will be attending the June 8^th Green Team meeting

· We publish in the "Green Scene” section of the Mayor’s Quarterly Newsletter

The next message is being created, and is due to Maureen around May 31^st

· The Green Team received a grant for $3100 from SWD for brochure & labels—this was announced at an earlier meeting. We will be meeting with Dan Galli & Dwight Clark to coordinate on the messaging for the brochure.

· There was some discussion on whether there would be any value to becoming a tax exempt organization—it is required when the grant applications are submitted. No decision was made—the benefits and requirements would need further research.

Join us for our next meeting Tuesday, June 8th @ City Hall--2nd floor conference room. Make a difference, get involved!

Project Earth Club & Bay Kids Rock!!!

Big turnout of Bay High kids today for the 3rd annual Bay Village Waterway Clean Up. Adviser for Project Earth Club Eryn Whistler did a GREAT job coordinating this event. Not only was there plenty of trash, plastics, cans and stuff picked up but a dining room table and chairs were the winner for the strangest find. The four areas of clean up included Porter Creek & Lake Erie Shore, Bay Boat Club, Cahoon Creek South to North and Columbia Park. Gloves and trash bags were provided by the BV Service Department. A map with instructions and trash pick up locations were provided to all. Some groups that finished early came back and helped pull over 300 lbs. of garlic mustard plants. Even a reporter and photographer from the Westlake / Bay Village Observer stopped by for a story. After 3 hours of trash collecting and invasive plant pulling, a lunch of Subway subs, chips and H2O was provided by The Bay Village Foundation.
Big thumbs-up and good job Bay kids!!!

Recycling in Public Spaces around Town

The City of Bay Village Service Center, in conjunction with the Bay Village Green Team, are pleased to announce that we have been awarded a grant from the Solid Waste District to purchase 24 indoor/outdoor recycle bins. The bins will be used to recycle bottles and cans, and will be placed strategically throughout the city in high traffic areas, such as the city parks, soccer fields, and walk ways.

Also... the Bay Village Waterways Clean Up is taking place this Saturday, May 15, from 11:am – 2:pm for trash pick up along Cahoon Creek, Columbia Park, Bay Boat Club, and other portions of the Lake Erie waterfront. Sponsored by the City of Bay Village and Bay High School’s Project Earth Club, this annual event will meet at the Gazebo by Cahoon Park and they ask that you arrive before 11am. Directions and supplies will be given promptly at 11 with groups departing to their clean up areas by 11:10. Contact Eryn Whistler at ewhist@leeca.org for more information. Be sure to dress for the weather!