The Bay Village Green Team monthly meeting was held December 1 at City Hall in the second floor conference room. It was attended by ten of our members with the community garden project being the main topic. The community garden committee, headed by Bob Shields, Laura Crabb and Ginger O'Brien, has been meeting for the past 6 weeks with a projected start date to be Spring 2010. The group has received permission to use the 5 acre plot at Forestview & Wolfe Road, owned by the School Board. They are in the process of organizing and finalizing its charter, including the mission and rules, projecting an estimated budget for start-up costs and ongoing operations. The group has been in contact with various potential partners throughout the community including schools, seniors businesses and restaurants. They have met with Mayor Sutherland and have a meeting scheduled with the Superintendent for later this month. This will truly be a cross-community collaboration utilizing sustainable gardening methods and provide educational opportunities along with a source of healthy & local foods for restaurants and families in need.Other updates from the meeting were... asking the city to provide funding for the pilot of the recycle bins in public places. The plan is to get the bins purchased by Spring 2010. The group is also looking at possible grants or ways to create signage for the bins - including signs for trash bins that increase public awareness that the contents will be going to the landfill! The Mayor is also in the process of rolling out recycling in city buildings. Communications updates were our BVGT Facebook site that Pat McGannon has set-up (so what are you waiting for? Become a fan!). An EcoLakewood meeting attended by Brenda O'Reilly and Lori Sprosty, which we believe there will be some opportunities to share ideas and possible partner on activities with Lakewood in the future. There was also a kick-off meeting with BAYarts on their first ever Shades of Green event planned for next summer to promote sustainability and art. The Green Team will be very involve with this. Other things discussed were the Green Team's "Trash Oscar" award for Best Supporting Cast.
We will continue to meet monthly next year, on the second Tuesday of each month beginning at 6:30 in City Hall. The sub committee meetings will no longer occur monthly, rather the Green Team members will meet on an as needed basis to work on specific activities and events. One final note is that we would like to bring in Guest Speakers, at least every other month. If anyone has an idea for a speaker on a sustainable topic, please contact Lori Sprosty at bayvillagegreenteam@gmail.com.
