Composting Seminar at Bay Community House

Spring is a great time to start a compost pile. All you need is a sunny spot in the backyard and you’ll be able to create a compost pile using a mix of “brown” and “green” materials.

Backyard composting is a key to reducing the waste that goes to the land fill. When the organic matter such as kitchen and yard waste go to the landfill, the nutrients are not returned to the soil. Through composting, you reuse valuable materials by returning the nutrients from the food you eat and the plant material in your yard back to the soil. According to the EPA, nearly 25% of all waste that goes to the land fills is compostable.

What can be composted?

The compost process adds 1-2 parts GREEN materials with 2-3 parts BROWN materials.

· Green (organic) materials include: Plant clippings, vegetable scraps, fruit scraps, flowers, grass clippings, coffee grounds, tea bags

· Brown (organic) materials include: Dead leaves, straw, sawdust, wood chips, shredded newspaper, dryer/vacuum lint, nut shells

A properly maintained compost pile will have an “earthy” smell and will provide you with a free source of valuable organic soil amendments to use in place of fertilizers.

Compost Seminar:

Come and join Kathy Rocco of the Cuyahoga County Solid Waste District on Wednesday, April 13, 7-8:30 PM to learn all about backyard composting. The Seminar will be held at the Bay Community House, 303 Cahoon Road, in Bay Village and is open to the public. The seminar is free and there will be two styles of outdoor compost bins available for purchase at a discounted price of $50 each. There is also a compost scrap pail for $5. (Cash or check only).

To register:

Contact Warren Remein wlremein@yahoo.com

February Meeting Updates

Kids + Passion = Energy; that’s how this month’s GT meeting began.

Mrs. Martha Fisher’s 3^rd grade class from Westerly Elementary School gave an awesome presentation on their rain barrel project to the Green Team. The class plans to raise awareness for storm water management by assembling and selling rain barrels this spring. This is a wonderful project that the class is undertaking—there was a lot of enthusiasm for the project by everyone there--the children, their parents, and GT members.

The Community Garden is preparing to open this spring—targeting early April to open, weather dependent. Fifty Nine plots are already assigned—a total of 130 are available. Bay community garden head Bob Shields is looking for people to chair and participate on the various sub committees. A new fence will be purchased. There are plans to hold a kickoff meeting for Community Garden participants in March. A new requirement for community garden service will be added this year.

On the waste management front... Council approved Automated Trash Pick-up with a vote of 7-0 in January. The ATP will include increased curbside recycling (of cardboard, mixed paper) and compost (yard waste in brown bags). The green team is in strong support of this initiative due to the potential to significantly increase the recycling within the city. The Green Team plans to support the ATP roll out by working with Republic to create labels for the inside, top of the containers. Bay will be the first west side community to have labels on the recycle containers—this should increase the recycle compliance. The Green Team will also publish various alternatives for using or donating your used trash can. We don’t want them going to the land fill!

Ideas include:

· Donate those in good shape to Habitat for Humanity (must be clean)

· Donate those that are blue in good shape to the Bay Schools

· Keep them for excess trash, that will be picked up monthly

· Repurpose them into compost containers. This is a great way to use a can that has holes, as holes are needed to aerate the compost. An informational link is also provided on our website for repurposing to a backyard digester in the January 2011 Meeting Update posting.

· If all else fails, recycle them. Chances are the metal or plastic can be recycled (probably not curbside)

Upcoming Events

· Wednesday, April 13, 7 PM Bay Community House—Compost Seminar with Kathy Rocco of the Solid Waste District

· Saturday, April 16, 9am to 5pm —Habitat for Humanity Pick Up at the BVPD parking lot

· Wednesday, April 27, 7 PM Bay Community House—Build a Rain Barrel with Amy Roskilly of the Cuyahoga County Soil and Water Conservation District.

· Saturday, May 21, 10:30 AM to 2 PM—Project Earth Water Way Clean Up

· Saturday, May 21, 9am to 5pm—Habitat for Humanity Pick Up at the BVPD parking lot

For a complete set of Minutes from the February 8^th meeting email us at bayvillagegreenteam.com. Join us at our next regular GT meeting on Tuesday, March 8^th, 6:30 PM, at the Bay Community House—New location to note.

Make a difference, get involved!

So you think it's hard to be GREEN?

From time to time the BVGT receives emails from residents talking and asking about GREEN. Below is one such letter whose sustainable methods and green practices are so impressive that we wanted to share with all.

Hello - My husband and I were happy to see the information about recycling in the October issue of the Bay Village News. We have been residents here since December 1998 and have been doing most of the items mentioned since we moved in.

Initially we started out with a compost pile - 6 ft square, if not larger. We composted all kitchen and yard waste in addition to some shredded newspaper and small branches. We converted our compost pile to a garden so now we do vermi-composting (red wiggler composting worms). It does not handle all grass clippings. But, we use the grass clippings and mulched leaves as "mulch", which then decomposes. It works wonders for the raspberry patch, small garden and flower beds around the yard.

We recycle all paper and cardboard. We do the plastic and glass recycling. We separate the pop cans and take them to the fire station for recycling - they donate the money to the burn units.

In the last few years we have also started to collect rain water. We have a simple collection system that irrigates water to the flower beds around the perimeter of the yard. We also have a rain barrel that collects water from the garage roof and we use that to water our small garden. It is hooked up to a sprinkler, which we control from the collection barrel. Not to mention, any water collected by the dehumidifier in the basement - that is used to water potted plants. It does not go down the drain!

We love to pass on our experiences to others who are interested in GREEN. Once you are in the habit of doing these things it is really not a big deal. Some of the local communities are actually going to be monitoring the "recyclables" that residents set out for recycling. We think that is a great idea. It might force people to take those few extra steps and start thinking about some of these issues.

Kudos to you for passing on the information to all of Bay's residents; if we all did our part we could really reduce what goes to the landfill.

Thank you - Suzanne & Jeffrey

October Meeting Updates

Highlights from our recent 10/12 meeting began in the waste management area with an update of the automated trash pick up (ATPU) for BV from city council member Dwight Clark. Noted was the promotion of uniformity and increased curbside recycling--typically increasing community recycling by 30% or more due to the increased curbside options and would include cardboard and mixed paper. In addition, the yard waste in brown bags would go to a compost facility in Avon (currently, it goes to the landfill). Adoption of ATPU has not yet been approved and is still under review with council. However, a possible target date for adoption is 4/1/11. There will be a town hall meeting on Wednesday, October 27th, 7:30 PM at the Police Station community room on ATPU and GT members are encouraged to attend to support this important initiative.
Next on the agenda was an update by Bob Shields on the community garden. The harvest for the summer season was excellent and far beyond expectations. Current gardeners have until Oct 25^th to renew for next year; after Nov 1, open enrollment will be on a first come first serve basis. At this time, current garden plots also need to be prepared for winter. The compost area is under development (as an Eagle Scout project), projected to be complete by the end of October. The main priority is the deer fence. The deer have breached the fence in the last month on a regular basis. The group is looking at various fencing options, and will need to meet with the city regarding the fence ordinances. One idea is to have a fence that is 6 ft tall, with a single wire around the top, extending the height to around 8 ft.
As we continue to look for ways to fund the community garden, a grant discussion by Ellie Bricmont and Brenda O’Reilly followed. Information and ideas were given for consideration in obtaining grants and Ellie suggested that we put together a Fact Sheet and a Wish List with all of our funding needs. Both of these can be placed in front of potential donators. Likely our donations will not come from foundations, which are currently more focused on providing funding for projects that benefit those in need, but private donors or merchants may be very interested in funding “Green” Initiatives. Anyone interested in making a donation can contact the BVGT at the below email address or the Mayor’s office at 440-899-3416.
The communications update included the Composting 101 postcard (being mailed to all BV residents the week of Oct. 25^th); a laser print copy of the postcard that circulated and 3 sample layouts of the recycling sticker on display. The GT also had a message in the latest Mayors Quarterly Newsletter, the Green Scene, about recycling, composting and the Habitat for Humanity collection that took place Oct. 16th.
To request a complete word doc copy of our current or past minutes, email us at: bayvillagegreenteam@gmail.com