Sustainable Flatbush is proud to be part of Project LeafDrop: “a volunteer-run, neighborhood-based coalition of gardeners and greening partners who are harvesting residential leaves for compost this fall.” The Flatbush CommUNITY Garden, a project of our Urban Gardens and Farms Initiative, will hold leaf collections on Sunday November 8th and Saturday November 21st from 11am til 1pm, and there will be a shredder on hand to create leaf mulch “while you wait.” So bring your fall leaves to 1550 Albemarle Road (at Buckingham Road) and be part of the movement for less garbage and more gardens!

Here’s a little background:
Until 2007, the NYC Department of Sanitation collected leaves in the fall and brought them to a municipal composting site in Staten Island; this compost was made available to urban gardeners at pickup sites throughout the city in the spring. However, in 2008 the Department of Sanitation discontinued this program and New York City’s leaves were carted to landfills along with the rest of our garbage, where they represent both a major addition (20,000 TONS) to the city’s waste management burden and a missed opportunity to create free, high-quality gardening fertilizer for NYC residents and community gardens.

photo by Flatbush Gardener

Last fall one pioneering Brooklyn community garden, the 6/15 Garden in Park Slope, conducted its own leaf collection and was overwhelmed with leaves from literally all over the borough (apparently some were even brought by subway!).

Several weeks ago Sustainable Flatbush participated in the brainstorming meeting that created Project LeafDrop. With 6/15′s experience to draw from, representatives from Brooklyn Botanic Garden, Brooklyn Compost Project, Earth Matter, East New York Farms, and several community gardens created a blueprint for how to collect and compost leaves locally all over the city.

More information about the project and leaf collection locations is available at the coalition’s website NYCLeaves, and also at the blog of our own Flatbush Gardener, where he includes a map of all the sites in Brooklyn. The leaves will be composted at community gardens for use onsite.

(Note: Flatbush Daffodil Project 2009, originally scheduled for November 7th, 8th, 14th and 15th, will now take place on the 14th and 15th only.)

Brooklyn College Welcome Back Bash

Campus Road was closed down and filled with tables of student groups and community organizations, games, street performers from Circus Amok, and live music provided by the Pimps of Joytime. Sustainable Flatbush provided Brooklyn College students and neighbors with information about the goal of our organization as well as our four initiatives.

Circus Amok

At the Welcome Back Bash Sustainable Flatbush invited Sam from Transportation Alternatives, who informed people about the organization’s advocacy for bicycling, walking, and public transit; Rommel from Recycle-A-Bicycle, who was able to put many students’ bikes back into tip-top shape; and master composters from Brooklyn Compost Project, who encouraged students to learn about worm composting.Community gardeners from Brooklyn College’s Campus Road Garden were there to make students aware of the proposed demolition of the garden and solicit signatures for their petition to save it. They also took students and neighbors on walking tours through the garden’s peach trees, figs, pumpkins, mums, and much more to make them conscious of the garden’s existence.

With music in the background and students playing basketball, Sustainable Flatbush was able to educate students about sustainable living. Questions about urban gardening, composting, bicycling, and many more were answered. People were able to pick up information on Sustainable Flatbush events and projects, New York City bicycle maps, and Biking Rules pamphlets.

If you missed the bearded woman get out of a straight jacket, a man string himself through a wire hanger, a woman swallowing swords, all the fun and music, and most importantly Sustainable Flatbush, there will be another Welcome Back Bash in Spring.

Energy Solutions: Solar One
Livable Streets: Transportation Alternatives
Urban Gardens and Farms: Brooklyn Botanic Garden’s Greenbridge Program
Zero Waste: Educating Tomorrow and Brooklyn Compost Project

The Frolic is produced by the Flatbush Development Corporation and our Environmental Fair was sponsored by the Flatbush Food Coop. A big thank you to everyone involved! It was a great day!

Photos by Keka Marzagao