Environmental Awareness Fair, Bensonhurst, May 9, 2009 - Edward Maddalena's Eagle Scout project

(I am happy to report that Eddie is now an Eagle Scout.)

To prove his leadership skills to earn the highest rank in Scouting: Eagle Scout - Life Scout - Edward Maddalena held an Environmental Awareness Fair on Saturday June 16th from 11:30 am to 2:30 pm on the lawn of New Utrecht Reformed Church, a few blocks from the 18th Avenue subway station on the D line. I attended and was amazed at how organized this young man is. During the 3-hour fair, he circulated with his clipboard and made sure everyone on his checklist had food, water and other materials. He arranged for free food and drink for all the volunteers. Green balloons were flying over his banner at the front gate which announced the event. Fellow scouts from his troop, his family and other volunteers made sure everything was running smoothly.

To finance this event he raised funds by posting his project on IOBY.org, one of his participants. He publicized his project as he should, in local papers, and with flyers at local gathering spots, community centers and places of worship.

The second part that amazed me was the variety of participating groups.

Sarah Moon of NY Loves Mountain was telling people about the toxicity and threat to our water supply of dynamiting mountaintops to get to the coal underneath. www.nylovesmountains.com

An urban park ranger was explaining the squirrel and red-tail falcon hides and body parts on his table and giving out copies of “Outdoors in New York City”, a calendar of urban park ranger free programs www.nyc.gov/parks/rangers.

Heather McCown and Andrew Wasserman of the Sunset-Ridge Waterfront Alliance were encouraging people to support the return of ferries to Bay Ridge and to attend their 2nd Annual Greening the Ridge Festival at the 69th Street Pier on Sunday, June 14th www.srwalliance.org.

Dr. Ben Dubin-Thaler helped kids explore the microscopic world of bacteria and other single-celled decomposers inside his grease, solar, and wind-powered mobile laboratory, the BioBus (http://www.biobus.org).

Erin Barnes of IOBY was talking about how her website allows people to volunteer with or make small donations to grassroots environmental projects in their neighborhood www.ioby.org.

Scouts were handing out water-saving information from the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation, including a document called High-Efficiency Bathroom Sink Faucets. Edward himself produced a two-page document with 25 ways to help save the earth.

Bob Hyland, founder of the Center for Urban Greenscaping (CuGreen), demonstrated non-stop how to start vegetable plants in recycled soda bottle planters and then grow food in sub-irrigated tote box and utility bucket planters. He shared that all you need is at least six hours of sunlight on a rooftop, balcony, paved patio or driveway. Tillable land is not required. It was obvious from the stream of questions that people are hungry for information about growing fresh food in the city. He blogs about urban greenscaping at www.insideurbangreen.org.

Also womanning the NYSERDA (New York State Energy and Research Development Authority (www.getenergysmart.org) table were Megan Houston of the Pratt Center for Community Development and Maria Buckmire of the Neighborhood Housing Service of New York City. Like all the participants, these two women were knowledgeable, concerned and engaged with their work and were very approachable.

The New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) is a public benefit corporation that strives to reduce energy consumption and improve New York State's economic and environmental well-being. NYSERDA's Energy $mart Communities program engages communities to accomplish that mission. The Pratt Center for Community Development coordinates the Energy $mart Communities program for Brooklyn and Queens, working with homeowners, tenants, building owners and businesses to reduce energy use on a neighborhood level. The Pratt Center works with the Neighborhood Housing Services of NYC to help reach the over 600,000 one– to four-family homes in Brooklyn and Queens. Every homeowner and nearly every building in NYC is eligible for financial incentives to improve energy efficiency, which helps reduce the greenhouse gases that cause global warming as well as dangerous particulate emissions. More information about NYSERDA’s residential programs may be found at www.getenergysmart.org and the Pratt Center’s Energy Matters web page.

Megan Houston is an Intern at the Pratt Center and assists Wendy Fleischer with the Energy $mart Communities program's energy-focused neighborhood projects. Megan is also a Masters Candidate in Urban Environmental Management Systems at Pratt Institute.

All in all, it was time well spent with activist colleagues engaging the community in their environmental work.

And for all of us, it was exciting to be in a neighborhood where we don’t often work. And to see the next generation doing such a good job of getting involved.

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He did an amazing job & it was a very enjoyable day on the lawn! – Heather McCown, Sunset-Ridge Waterfront Alliance

Outstanding scout project – Robert Hyland, Urban Greenscaper