By Karen Talbot
March 22, 2023: As part of the local government, the Bronxville Green Committee works with Mayor Mary Marvin, the administrative staff, and the Village Board of Trustees to implement Village-approved projects that promote awareness and education and seek to reduce emissions that contribute to climate change.
Below is what the Green Committee is currently doing to promote healthy landscapes in Bronxville.
-The Village maintains the informally named Alfredo Dog Park, located at the end of Dusenberry Road. Neighborhood residents and local volunteers, spearheaded by Ben Lentz, have gradually turned the periphery of the park into a series of gorgeous gardens filled with mostly native plants.
-Under the Green Committee umbrella, the Bronxville Pollinator Pathways group is one of a nationwide network of groups that support biodiversity and a transition to healthy lawn practices.
Pollinator Pathways asks residents to do three things:
*Stop using harmful chemical fertilizers and pesticides on your lawn/yard.
*Add native plants which support the full cycle of pollinators and other beneficial insects.
*In the Fall, place whole or mulched leaves in your planting beds to provide winter habitat for wildlife and reduce the compaction of roots, which helps control runoff from storms.
-Bronxville was recently approved as a "Tree City USA," a program run by the Arbor Day Foundation, to encourage the planting of native trees to maintain our tree canopy in the face of rising pressures from climate change. Look for related displays and events from the Green Committee and a village tree planting this coming Arbor Day on April 28th.
-The Bronxville Green Committee helps run many other Village programs that reduce waste (Take Back Day, Food Scrap Recycling), encourage the transition to clean energy (Energy Smart Homes Program), and promote ecologically beneficial landscaping practices (Healthy Yards, Pollinator Pathways).
-Last Spring, the Village was recognized for these efforts when it received Bronze Certification in New York State's Climate Smart Communities program. With support from the Green Committee, the Village will continue its work to reduce emissions and promote sustainable practices.
-The Bronxville Giving Garden, under the umbrella of the Green Committee, is located on the corner of Village Hall. The Garden helps address food insecurity in our area by growing vegetables and herbs that are donated to Eastchester Community Action Partnership (ECAP) in Tuckahoe and Community Service Associates in Mt. Vernon.
-Seed money from the Village and the Rotary Club made this project possible. In the Spring, Eliza Frost and Reformed Church nursery school students often visit to learn how our food grows.
