Saturday Shorts: 06.07.14 Special New Haven Edition

American Hornbeam, a native tree

New Haven, CT is very much a Green city, populated with people donating their time and talents to making New Haven a more sustainable place in which to live.

It’s a gorgeous, pre-summer day, and I am drafting this post outside, the old-fashioned way with paper and pen, and I may not post until the sun is down. 

Here is an update on some of the good things that have been happening in my fair city:

Good Groups Get Grants for Good Things

• The New Haven Land Trust received a NewHavenAlliance Foundation 10 for 10 Grant  of $10,000 to create an Urban Agriculture Resource Center in New Haven.
• Neighborhood Housing Services of New Haven received a grant from the Greater New Haven Green Fund to educate neighborhood activists about ways to reduce stormwater runoff. Neighborhood Housing Services of New Haven staff and volunteers will be digging and installing two rain gardens in their Hudson Street demo lot on Friday under the direction of Michael Dietz, Director of U Conn College of Agriculture and Natural Resource’s NEMO Program.

Local Produce is Back

• Joel Tolman of Common Ground High School reported on Facebook that their first strawberry is ripe.
• City Seed is now open for the season at Wooster Square (on Saturdays) and Edgewood Park (on Sundays). The Wednesday Downtown Market will open on the Green on June 18. The markets in Fair Haven and the Hill will open in July. The full schedule is posted here.

Historic Preservation is Alive and Well

• The Little Theater on Lincoln Street, formerly known as the Lincoln Theater, was dedicated yesterday after a $5.8 million restoration. The funds came from a state grant, supplemented by foundation support and private donations. It will be used students at ACES/ECA and the community.
• Two brothers from Trumbull, along with a preservationist from Terryville, are seeking help to purchase an historic oyster barge now docked in a marina in New Haven’s Fair Haven section for use as a floating restaurant and museum. 

New Haven Green Drinks is Going Strong

The June New Haven Green Drinks will be held at Miya’s Sushi in celebration of World Ocean Day. Chef Bun Lai will discuss his efforts to promote sustainable seafood, including his Invasive Species Menu. Attendees will also learn about tools for making better seafood choices, including the Monterey Bay Seafood Watch Guide.

Native Plants are Thriving

• The American Hornbeam (Carpinus caroliniana) we planted in the backyard last spring (photo above) seems happy in its new home. Something [squirrels?] found and devoured all the catkins shortly after they appeared. So far no birds have nested in it. It is now fully leafed out and very green.
• Rain followed by sunny days has made it a great spring for plants in pots. See what you can do with native Heuchera in a partly shaded spot?

Happy Saturday. Hope you are enjoying (or have enjoyed) the day.

Why Saturday Short Subjects? Some readers may recall  being dropped at the movie theater for the Saturday matinee — two action-packed feature films with a series of short subjects (cartoons or short movies, sometimes a serial cliffhanger) sandwiched in between. Often the short subjects were the most memorable, and enjoyable, part of the morning. That explains the name. The reason behind these particular posts is that we are all short on time. My Short Subject posts should not take me as long to write or you as long to read (or try).

Joining Hands for a Better World: 12.17.13

On December 3, I set out on a pre-Christmas challenge — to post a tip a day we can collectively follow with the goal of making the world a better place. 

Today’s suggestion: Do Some of Your Holiday Shopping Locally

It’s another snow day in New Haven, CT, a city where snow often doesn’t make its first appearance until the New Year.

Today’s treacherous road conditions forced many procrastinators to change their holiday shopping plans. I am sure many turned to Amazon. But others ventured out in the snow to explore what was downtown. Judging from the filled shopping bags I spotted during an excursion to the bank, many of them discovered just how much their local shops have to offer.

That was our experience on Saturday, the first of the snow days. We spent a bit more than we would have at the mall, but we received excellent service from an attentive clerk, who then boxed and gift-wrapped our items, and offered us Christmas cookies [sorry, where has to be a secret for now]! We strolled past shop windows decorated with white paper cut-outs, enjoyed a sandwich and coffee at Woodland Coffee & Tea, and a cookie and coffee at Maison Mathis when our shopping was done. We also had the pleasure of using our own calories rather than the gas in the car.  

There are a number of other very good reasons for shopping locally— from supporting business owners who are your neighbors and fellow taxpayers to building community. Perhaps the most compelling reason comes from an economic study conducted in Portland, Maine in 2011. Researchers found that every $100 spent in locally owned business contributed and additional $58 to the economy of Portland. In contrast, only $33 was returned to the local economy for each $100 spent in a chain store.

That’s it for today. “See you tomorrow.” 

“All together now,” as the Beatles once sang. Let’s see how much good we can do over the next few weeks.

Saturday Short Subjects: Rock to Rock Overachieves!

The final tally is in. Earlier this week, Rock to Rock Earth Day Ride 2013 organizers announced the final statistics for this year’s event, the 5th annual ride.

The fundraising goal was $150,000.

The 1,100 riders in Rock to Rock 2013 recruited 2,388 donors, who contributed more than $152,000  — surpassing the fundraising goal by over $2,000! 

FYI, on April 20, Rock to Rock participants collectively biked more than 16,000 miles (over halfway around the globe) for the benefit of 23 different environmental organizations in New Haven!

Chris Randall, who took the photos of these two happy riders, was out and about documenting the day’s events. 

For more images from Rock to Rock 2013, check out this page at the website IloveNewHaven.org.

And, save the date of April 26, 2014 for next year’s ride!

Why Saturday Short Subjects? Some readers may recall  being dropped at the movie theater for the Saturday matinee — two action-packed feature films with a series of short subjects (cartoons or short movies, sometimes a serial cliffhanger) sandwiched in between. Often the short subjects were the most memorable, and enjoyable, part of the morning. That explains the name. The reason behind these particular posts is that we are all short on time. My Short Subject posts should not take me as long to write or you as long to read (or try).

A Snowku for You

Feathery white flakes

Large as a tufted titmouse

Swirled through the night sky

The devil appeared in the cherry tree mid-day on Wednesday the 26th, after the small storm, a mere footnote to the big one that followed late that same night. The second image was taken from the same window the next morning. We've been shoveling for days here—steps, sidewalks, porches, roofs, driveways, and passages to the street. The January updates will have to wait until early February…