Monday, May 2, 2011

Prospect Park litter - calling all heroes (plus giveaway!)


Save the Date - Litter Mob!

Tuesday, 10 May, 9am, Midwood, Prospect Park: corner of Center Drive and East Drive

From Eric Landau, Director of Government and Community Affairs for the Prospect Park Alliance:

"I am pleased to report back to you that we have made arrangements for you and any additional volunteers you can recruit to work with members of our Natural Resources Crew (NRC) in the Midwood.  We would like to schedule this for Tuesdays at 9am and are available to start on Tuesday, May 10th.  Please meet John Jordan from the NRC at the corner of Center Drive and East Drive by the Midwood at 9am.  We will provide trash grabbers, garbage bags and gloves.  Please let me know in advance how many people you expect to join you, so that we can provide enough supplies."

Because it has been scheduled for a Tuesday, I am appealing to all freelancers, trust fund beneficiaries, starving artists, incredibly successful artists, retired persons, and Those with Interesting Schedules to show up on the 10th and pick up, at the end of a nice long stick, used condoms, wet wipes, bottles, chip packets and whatever else we find.

It'll be fun! 

Bloggers -please reblog or put out the word (with my email, see below).


Seriously. Broaching the subject of the nature of some of the litter found in these woods makes people in positions of offialdom jumpy. So I am very pleased that we have this opportunity to go and clean up somebody else's mess.

I am not from a country of deciduous forest. I grew up with grasslands and then moved to fynbos. Each is spectacular and unique, but lacks the Northern romance of the falling leaf, the greening branch, the winter silhouette. I care about these woods in the park, a memory in the enormous city of what this land once was, before the grid. They are beautiful and I would like to help keep them clean. And cannot do it alone.


This is the first time a group has targeted this area, and Vince and I will show up regularly. We are hoping that others who love these woods and care about the park will pitch in and help. We might be able to work out a weekend day if a weekday proves untenable.


Please RSVP for this glorious walk-in-the-woods-with-benefits, so that there will be a nice set of gloves and grabber waiting for you.

marieyviljoen   at   gmail     dot    com

The giveaway (Fine: bribe):

I will be giving away a copy of Stephen Orr's new Tomorrow's Garden (Rodale, 2011), to the third caller, er, emailer who RSVPs (and shows up!). The book is worth it for the beautiful photographs alone (I confess I go for pictures, rather than text when looking for garden inspiration). Which is good in this case because the text in the book is preternaturally small, with some sidebar exceptions - perhaps a budget consideration? Smaller text, smaller book, but it is a pity. That notwithstanding there are some wonderful gardens and fresh ideas in it, including the Gowanus Garden! I told Stephen about it two years ago when we helped judge the Greenest Block. Seems he visited...Also in the pages, vegetables, raspberries, lawnless lawns, the real story behind gravel, chickens (of course) and some good ideas.  He writes very well. Just invest in a magnifying glass.

For more about the Prospect Park (and its litter) here are some previous as wellas subsequent posts:

9 comments:

  1. Yeee-haaaa - well done, wish I could be there to help. I pick up bits and pieces in my little green space.
    And loved the wisteria picture too.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I hope you get lots of volunteers there, I only wish I could come along but it's a bit of a way to travel!

    Good Luck!

    ReplyDelete
  3. I am with you in spirit.Good luck!

    ReplyDelete
  4. I'm with dinahmow. Can't talk Mitchell into a trip to NYC for fun, much less to work, but am proud of you for getting some action out of the Parks Department. You go, Girl!

    ps: I will re-post, just in case there's someone who can help you.

    ReplyDelete
  5. How come it's only us out of towners commenting here?

    If I could I would. Hope others who can,do.

    xo jane

    ReplyDelete
  6. I would be there if I could...However...I will be picking up garbage on my walk to Zeiger Park in DeSoto, Tx and even do a round of trash picking up in your honor! Thank you for getting that going...I have a lot of good memories of Prospect Park.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Not fun or glamourous but bloody brilliant of you and the other volunteers. Walking the talk and all that. x

    ReplyDelete
  8. In-towner here. I am one of those TwISs, but I work Tuesdays and its finals, and the kids need me to be on time, yet I'll come before work for as much as I can.

    And I'll repost.

    And congratulations on all your effort. Brooklyn will never know what hit them.

    ReplyDelete

Comments on posts older than 48 hours are moderated (for spam control) . Yours will be seen! Unless you are a troll. Serial trollers are banned.