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!

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 .

In celebration of the new growing season in NJ, the Montclair Township Environmental Affairs office & Community Green are pleased to present an eye opening film about food and farming, THE FUTURE OF FOOD, on Wednesday, June 3, 7:00pm at the Montclair Public Library Main Branch! There is a revolution happening in the farm fields and on the dinner tables of America – a revolution that is transforming the very nature of the food we eat. Sign up to see it!

THE FUTURE OF FOOD, a film by the award-winning Deborah Koons Garcia, offers an in-depth investigation into the disturbing truth behind the unlabeled, patented, genetically engineered foods that have quietly filled U.S. grocery store shelves for the past decade. This film gives a voice to farmers and citizens whose lives and livelihoods have been negatively impacted by this new technology. The health implications, government policies and push towards globalization are all part of the reason why many people are alarmed by the introduction of genetically altered crops into our food supply.

The film also explores alternatives to large-scale industrial agriculture, placing organic and sustainable agriculture as real solutions to the farm crisis today.

Wednesday, June 3rd at 7:00 pm 
at the Montclair Public Library’s Main Branch, 50 So. Fullerton Ave.
Please sign up at Meetup.com!

Tonight

Speakers at the event will be:

• Jose German, a founder of Montclair Community Wildlife Habitat Project and active with the Cornucopia Network of NJ which promotes organic gardening and composting. German is a founder of Green Harmony Now, which helps people maintain their properties sustainably.
• Bud Feder, PhD, a Montclair psychologist who specializes in stress reduction and meditation. Feder has authored many books and edited others and has facilitated training workshops in many countries across three continents.
• Catherine Moon is in training to become a gourmet “Raw” chef at Raw Soul in NYC. She will discuss the health benefits of eating raw foods especially as they help healing from both minor and serious illnesses.

For directions and further details, go to www.essexcountygreens.org, or call 973-338-5398.