Our Outpost location at South Battery was a magnet for visitor engagement. This prime location – on the way to the Brooklyn ferry, down the hill from the antique French carousel in Nolan Park, next door neighbor to Children’s Museum of the Arts, a 10 minute walk from anywhere on the Island- gave us incredible exposure and the opportunity to interact with people that did not know of our existence at Picnic Point (where we produce compost and host hands on training programs). Below is some season end info about our activities on Governors Island, May – September 2013:
- Earth Matter hosted open hours on each of the 36 public days
- Visitors dropped 1,064 lbs. into the Dept. of Sanitation NY public food scrap bin
- Public education was provided on source separation for 8 events where organics were collected and processed
- 7 seasonal vendors participated in our food scrap diversion collection and processing program
- An estimated 5400 visitors to our Outpost – based on an average of 150 people who came through the Outpost gate per day. Thousands more viewed the activity from outside the fence.
- 11 free public workshops hosted during open hours
- The chicken flock now totals over 60, with the hatching of 5 chicks to the Ameraucana Henny Penny
- The Outpost became home to rabbits, Tino and Mycetes
- # of worms ebbs and flows as groups and families participate in the vermi harvesting and nursery program
- 94,954 lbs. of food scrap processed via farm market community composting and training builds
- 592 lbs. of oyster shells set for curing with 5 NYHS interns
Earth Matter’s mission was assisted by the work of:
- 12 interns (high school aged)
- 4 apprentices (adults)
- 18 regular Outpost volunteers
The Outpost hosted:
- 27 pre-arranged hands on group work days
- 16 regularly scheduled Friday volunteer work days
What activities will we offer during the “off” season?
- We will continue to host Friday volunteer animal and farm days from 9am-2 pm. Participants must pre-register for ferry access.
- Monthly community windrow builds – next build is Veterans Day – Monday, November 11
- Processing approximately 4500 lbs of farmer market food scraps/week
- 2 apprenticeship program cycles
- New York Harbor School Resource Recovery Internship Program (R-RIP)
- Most of the chickens will stay at the Outpost year round! thanks to the care of Earth Matter friends, our adult apprentices, and NYHS interns –email us to join in
What’s in store for next year? – stay tuned!