Pat Kenschaft

• Pat Kenschaft, 9:00-11:00 AM, 56 Gordonhurst Avenue, Montclair. Drive north two blocks on Grove Street from Watchung Avenue, and turn right. The third house on your right.
• Judy Hinds , 9:00 AM – noon, 156 Rhoda Avenue, Nutley. From Montclair take Watchung Ave. east all the way east over GSP to its end at the light at East Passaic. Turn left on East Passaic (no street sign – alas). Turn RIGHT at 2nd corner, Coeyman Ave – comes up pretty quickly. Count 4 streets on left, Stanley Ave. Turn left on Stanley, then immediately LEFT onto Rhoda. Our house #156 is third house on right, with a huge oak tree in front.
• Necole Fabris, 9:00 AM – noon, 8 Prospect Place in West Orange. From Montclair take Harrison Avenue to the West Orange end (Main Street). Left on Main Street. Follow Main Street to the next light. Go through the light and bear right to stay on Main Street. Make an immediate right on Prospect Place. We are the second house on the left.

Pat has raised all her family’s vegetables for decades, including a time when she was working full-time, her two children were teen-agers, and the family took in two foster teen-agers. Her husband brings home 100 bags of others’ leaves each fall and they mulch with neighbors’ grass clippings. These and wood chips are all they use from off the site. Composting is the key. Continuous tours take about a half hour. Email Pat.

Judy has an organic square foot garden. See the cool weather crops off to a great start, and the preparations for the warm weather. Check out her mini-cover cropping and her protective measures for seedlings. 973 661-0067. Email Judy.

Necole composts, uses leaves and grass clippings as ground cover, and introduces natural pest control measures into her garden, as needed. Her flowers consist of assorted annuals and a perennial bed, and her vegetable garden supplies approximately 80% of her family’s produce during the months of June, July, and August. The garden will be minimal in April, but much more lively in May. One and all are welcome. Please do not mind the dog barking as you arrive. She’s all bark and relishes a good compost heap like her human mom, just for a different reason. After all, dogs are scavengers and compost heaps are gold mines!

[We're also looking for volunteers to help at our table for an hour or two, starting with setup at 9:00. If you'd like to help, please sign up at www.meetup.com/GreenerBloomfield. Thank you!]

The Montclair Township Environmental Affairs office and Community Green present the latest movie in their Montclair Green Film Series. “A Chemical Reaction” will be shown on Thursday, April 15, 6:30 p.m. at the Montclair Public Library’s Main Branch, 50 So. Fullerton Avenue. All events at the Library are free.

The documentary tells the story of a powerful community initiative started in 1984 when a dermatologist noticed connections between her patients’ health and their exposure to pesticides and herbicides. She warned that chemicals put on lawns posed severe health risks, and had unknown side effects on the environment. This eventually led the town of Hudson to ban the use of chemical pesticides and herbicides. The chemical companies put their full legal weight on the tiny town and eventually the case made it to the Supreme Court.

The town’s right to protect its citizens was upheld, and – like a row of dominos – other municipalities followed suit. The entire province of Quebec enacted a ban and Home Depot stopped putting the dangerous pesticide products on their shelves.

Paul Tukey, one of the nation’s leading experts on organic lawn care followed this story for years. This documentary follows his journey leading to the doorstep of Hudson.

It’s an inspiring story of overcoming great odds and demonstrates the power of people coming together to effect great change in our society.

For more information about the Montclair Green Film Series, contact the office of Environmental Affairs at (973) 509-5721 or email .

NJN’s one-hour high definition special Green Builders profiles a cast of green building pioneers who have taken the leap into making their part of the “built environment” a more energy-efficient and environmentally friendly place. From The Willow School to PNC Bank to the first solar-hydrogen home, people talk about why green, the challenges, and how they fared. A green building has more to do with smart planning and a mindset change about energy use than expensive technologies or consumer sacrifice. These are real projects on the ground, working businesses and college campuses that prove you can change your carbon footprint once you change your way of looking at how a structure operates. Major funding for Green Builders was provided by the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation? with additional support from the Cape Branch Foundation.

This is one of a series of Environmental Film Screenings put on by CommunityGreen.org. For more information contact Marnie Vyff at 335-4469 or marnie@ecoLOGIC-design.com.

Training will be held at the Essex County Environmental Center at 621-B Eagle Rock Avenue in Roseland from 9a-11am or 7pm-9pm on March 24th. Pre-registration is required – please 973 228-8776 if you plan to attend.

Attendees will be instructed on how to accomplish this safely and with as little distress to the birds as possible. For those of you who are not familiar with it, GeesePeace is a nonprofit organization that is tackling the resident Canada Goose overpopulation problem through humane methods. These methods are approved by the Humane Society of the United States and PETA. In short, volunteers coat the goose eggs with oil before the eggs become viable and then replace them in the nest so the goose does not lay another clutch.

If you’ve ever complained about stepping in goose poop or watched kids slide around in it on the soccer field, this is your chance to take responsible action toward the ultimate goal of a more harmonious relationship between humans and these beautiful birds. To learn more about GeesePeace, please visit http://www.geesepeace.org.

The screening will be hosted at the Montclair Public Library’s Main Branch, 50 South Fullerton Avenue, Thursday, January 21st at 6:30 p.m. All events at the Library are free. The Green Film Series continues throughout 2010, on the third Thursday of each month. RSVP at Meetup.com.

This year’s first film, “The Story of Stuff”, looks at our consumption patterns and the connections between environmental and social issues, encouraging more sustainable consumerism and changing how we look at all the stuff in our lives.

The second film, “Trashed”, investigates one of the fastest growing industries, the garbage business, analyzing the causes and effects of “taking out the garbage” while showcasing individuals, activists, corporations and advocacy groups working to affect change.

What are some of the effects all this waste will have on already strained natural resources, and our global climate? Who does it affect most?

Everyone is cordially invited to attend these two short, entertaining films, and an open discussion afterwards.

The Great West Essex Toy Swap is an opportunity to bring your old toys to exchange for different toys your kids will love. It’s a great way to ensure your child’s previously loved things will geta new happy home, and that you can give them new things to play with at no cost to you. It’s a wonderful ReUse event!

The Great West Essex Toy Swap is the brainchild of Bloomfield resident and artist Greg Gutbezahl.The Swap will be held on Sunday February 21, 2010 from 10am to 3pm, with a drop off day on Saturday, February 20, 2010, after 4pm, at Temple Sholom of West Essex 760 Pompton Ave Cedar Grove, NJ 07009-1229, (973) 239-1326.

The SWAP organizers are currently looking for volunteers for the swap committee from the Caldwell to Bloomfield area. If you are interested, please visit the contact page on the website (see below), or email Greg at greg@gmg-design.com

Please visit the swap website http://toyswap.wordpress.com/ for updates and information.

The Swap organizers are also seeking donations to provide for promotions, and for schools and groups to promote the event through their lists. If you are able to help, or know of a business who may be willing to sponsor the event, please let Greg know, or contact JoAnn Pine at 973 239 1321.

The conference currently taking place in Copenhagen, attended by 192 nations, is the most important climate conference in world history. Unfortunately, the U.S. position is very weak – only calling for 4% reduction of C02 and other greenhouse gases below 1990 levels, when what is called for is at least 25% – 40%.

If you want to keep up with this 2 week conference, a good website is www.democracynow.org which usually broadcasts from New York, but will be reporting from Copenhagen during the entire conference. You can listen Mon – Fri from 8 – 9 a.m. at 99.5 FM or watch it on line at any time.

In addition, Ted Glick is participating in a climate justice fast with others around the world. You can find out more about this by going to www.climatejusticefast.com where you can read his blog and the blog of others who are making this sacrifice to call attention to the urgency of the crisis that our planet faces.

Participants will walk to Foley Field and take a picture in the shape of 350 (the safe level of carbon in the atmosphere), which will be sent to local newspapers and even to world leaders meeting at The Copenhagen Climate Summit this December. After the photo, the group will return to the college and have lots of activities for everyone. FREE food, music, information and games will be provided. “You don’t have to be into science or going green to support this movement, you just have to a be a human who wants a clean future, without climate change.” Visit 350.org and the BC Green Hearts Movement blog for more information.