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Caring in Carroll County

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FPS staff report
September 10, 2013

Dallack Paulette, 4, son of Aaron and Nicole Paulette of Carrollton, paints at Carroll Community Park

Nearly 200 volunteers worked throughout last Friday as part of the Carroll County United Way Day of Caring.

Ten nonprofit organizations received help with various projects such as landscaping, painting, and maintenance.  The event was coordinated by United Way of Greater Stark County and sponsored by Chesapeake Energy.

Day of Caring is a community wide day of hands-on volunteering in which United Way pairs businesses with local nonprofits and agencies that have projects that would otherwise go uncompleted.  

Organizations who benefited from the event included:  Augusta Elementary, Bluebird Farm, Camp Aldersgate, Carroll Community Park, Carroll Golden Age Retreat, Carroll County YMCA, Habitat for Humanity of Greater Stark and Carroll Counties, HARCATUS Family Support, Loaves and Fishes Food Pantry and St. John’s Villa.

The Augusta Elementary playground received mulch under playground equipment, creating a safer environment for students to play.  The mulch is specially formulated to contain no bark or pieces of treated lumber and is finer cut than landscaping mulch.  According to Jim Ready, owner of Ready to Haul, he donated 20-25 yards of mulch which was blown onto the playground area.  Chris Hull, principal of Augusta Elementary, noted the facelift the playground received was valued at approximately $850 and was donated through the effort of Angela Perisic of United Way.

“Thank you to Chesapeake Energy, Ready To Haul, and United Way from the staff and students at Augusta Elementary School,” said Hull.

Maintenance of existing gardens and trails was completed along with miscellaneous painting at Bluebird Farm Park.  Painting and trail maintenance was performed at Carroll Community Park along with the construction of a JoxBox, infield maintenance, and landscaping.  Landscaping was installed at three Habitat for Humanity homes being built on Lincoln Ave. in Carrollton.

Carroll Golden Age Retreat, Carroll County YMCA, HARCATUS Family Support and St. John’s Villa had numerous volunteers wielding paint brushes while windows, blinds and curtains were cleaned at Loaves and Fishes.

Ceiling fans were installed at Camp Aldersgate along with painting, cleaning; trail maintenance, small carpentry projects and gutting a building.

Carrie Clemens, United Way of Greater Stark County, coordinated the event with the help of event sponsor Chesapeake Energy:

“This first annual event is a great way to connect businesses and volunteers to local nonprofits to learn more about current needs.Volunteers are able to make a tangible difference where they work and live. Many, many thanks to Chesapeake Energy and all the sponsors and volunteers who made this successful day happen.”

For more information about United Way, visit www.uwstark.org or call 330-491-0445.

September gardening tips

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There’s still plenty of fruit still to be enjoyed from the garden: just
remember to pick it while it’s young and tender, and store it so it remains
fresh as long as possible. If you’re want to store potatoes, for example,
wait till the foliage has died completely, then dig them up and dry them.
Make sure none are diseased or damaged, then place them in the dark in paper
or a hessian sack. For onions, why not tie them to a dangling string? They
make an attractive feature and the air circulation means they’ll last for
longer.

Garden design workshop to be held in Marine Cove this weekend

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Garden design workshop to be held in Marine Cove this weekend

10:23am Wednesday 11th September 2013 in News


By Newsdesk

Garden design from Chelsea Flower Show 2011

GREEN fingered residents can join an accessible garden design workshop in Marine Cove.

Award-winning garden designer Sarah Milner Simonds will host the ‘introduction to garden design’ workshop on September 14 from 10am to 12noon.

Sarah said: “The workshop is designed to help participants learn how to use edible ornamentals to make your garden more productive.

“No experience of garden design is necessary, and you don’t have to be good at drawing, all you need is an interest in your garden and desire to make a change.”

This workshop is part of the Incredible Edible Somerset Open Gardens Weekend, a series of free events around the county designed to show off Somerset’s edible assets.

To attend the workshop, arrive at Marine Cove (TA8 2QA) by 10am, with a sketch book, pencil and a pencil sharpener. Wear suitable gardening clothing. There is no need to pre-book.

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BAH invites members to mini trades show

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September is here, and with that, comes a new line up of Business After Hours (BAH) Socials for chamber members (and anyone who is thinking of becoming a member) to enjoy.

To kick-off this season of get-togethers, the BAH committee invites members to a Mini Trades Show, where products and services for the home will be showcased at the Port Elgin Curling Club.

“It will feature many local businesses focused on providing you with all of your home products and services,” said BAH member, Kaitlyn Shular.

Some of the vendors that will be at the meeting include: Retire at Home Services, Truly Nolen Pest Control, All in One Landscaping, K interiors, Bruce County Custom Cabinets, Port Elgin Curling Club and Nicol Insurance Inc.

Those in attendance will enjoy food catered by Ribey Catering.

“Come on out to see our vendors, try the food, have a drink and win some prizes,” Shular said.

The BAH meeting will take place Sept. 19 between 5 p.m. and 7 p.m.

The BAH is the Chamber’s premier networking event allowing members to meet, exchange ideas, make important long-lasting bonds in a comfortable setting, while giving the hosting business an opportunity to showcase their workplace and gain valuable exposure.

Texas State home to award-winning composting program – Texas State University

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The odor of rotting food and dead plants can be smelled from a hilltop outside of San Marcos. However, for students at Texas State’s sustainable composting project, the stench is a byproduct of their work.

Bobcat Blend creates compost, a soil product often comprised of food waste and dead plant matter, said Jen Sembera, graduate student researcher and Bobcat Blend employee. The mixture is placed into a long pile called a windrow and, after an extended period of time, the blend decomposes into a fine, uniform soil used for landscaping and agricultural purposes, Sembera said.

The operation, which is entirely student-run and faculty managed, focuses on researching alternative, renewable resources and educating people in agricultural sustainability and waste management, according to a presentation given by Sembera on the program.

“It’s creating something from nothing,” Sembera said. “With this project, we are able to take something useless and repurpose it into a viable resource again.”

In 2011, Bobcat Blend processed 57 tons of food waste at their composting site a few miles southeast of San Marcos. Just one year later, the program was able to process 80.4 tons of food waste, all with the help of seven employees, the presentation said. Sembera said before the program’s inception in 2009, the on-campus dining halls were throwing out about 300 thousand pounds of food waste every year.

Members of the agriculture department saw an opportunity for research, and went to the Environmental Protection Agency seeking a grant. Sembera said the department was able to set up a composting site with the money and pay employees to scour dining halls every night to collect uneaten food waste.

Sembera said Bobcat Blend has begun selling the compost to local community gardens and is working with a graduate business class to develop a business model.

“We are more of a small business now,” Sembera said. “Until the business picks up, we are always searching for more funding.”

Sembera said the plants that make up the second component of the compost mixture are collected from a variety of locations such as rivers and oceans. Sembera’s research focuses primarily on the use of the taro plant, also known as elephant ears, an invasive plant species found in the San Marcos River.

“Usually when the plant is removed, it is thrown into a landfill and never used again,” Sembera said. “With Bobcat Blend, we are able to divert it from the landfills and use it for composting.”

According to a TCEQ release, the research conducted with Bobcat Blend has already proved the efficiency of the water hyacinth, another invasive species found in Texas, to be used as a component in composting. Further efforts to look into the viability of using other plant sources such as seaweed for their compost, an option which Sembera said has never been academically studied.

Bobcat Blend’s research efforts have acted as a vehicle into public education in topics of waste management and agricultural sustainability, Sembera said. The program has partnered with grade schools to inform students about pre- and post-consumer waste.

In May, Bobcat Blend was awarded the Texas Environmental Excellence Award in education from the Texas Commission for Environmental Quality, one of ten awards given each year.

TCEQ spokeswoman Lisa Wheeler said the strides Bobcat Blend has gone through to contribute to environmental staying power has earned them the award.

“This is a one-of-a-kind program that is powered by the will of students and faculty alone,” Wheeler said. “The recipient was a no-brainer.”

Geography senior Erich Scholl has been with Bobcat Blend for nearly two years. Scholl said he started out as a food waste collector but now works at the composting site, getting dirty and shoveling food waste and plants into piles.
“I like being outside,” Scholl said. “But I’m also learning a lot in my field of study and getting to network with people, which may lead to a job.”

Sembera said the innovative ideas and research at Bobcat Blend come in a time of environmental revolution where conservation efforts are increasingly becoming a normalcy.

“Composting is the future,” Sembera said. “It’s not so much a movement anymore, it’s a lifestyle.”

Have fun and get fit at new park

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Groups of fifteen people can now exercise together outside in the fresh air with the new fitness equipment recently installed at Lake Ridge Park in Port Elgin.

There are eight pieces of outdoor fitness equipment that have been carefully selected by the Parks and Trails Committee members to encourage adults to get physically active, with two pieces that are accessible and encourage upper body strength and mobility.

“The Town is proud to provide outdoor fitness equipment to our residents and visitors,” said Kristan Shrider, facilities and parks supervisor for the Town. “This adult equipment works with the user’s resistance – this means there are no weights to set or maintain, making the equipment low maintenance and user-friendly.”

“We’re looking forward to collaborating on the landscaping phase of this park,” said Tracy Lambert, president of SauGreen and Trees for Saugeen. “We want to create spaces for contemplation, conversation and activity, and want to hear from the community particularly with their ideas on how to make it work for mature adults.”

The Town staff, Parks and Trails Committee and Trees For Saugeen are creating a landscaping plan with Everest Nurseries’ landscape architect towards a multi year implementation schedule, which will be presented to the community this fall.

The adult fitness equipment project was kept within the budget of the Saugeen Shores’ Council for $35,000 for the first phase.

Bruce Power, through Trees for Saugeen and the Town have generously committed $1,000 each, as well as the Community Foundation of Grey Bruce and Everest Nurseries through the Eva Leflar Memorial Tree Planting Program. This will allow larger trees for more immediate shade, windbreak and privacy.

Through further private funding, even more trees, gardens, and spaces can be created to meet the needs of adults who will enjoy this Port Elgin park. This public/private partnership will put this newly developed Lake Ridge Park on the map and create a destination we can all enjoy.

Landscape Services completes campus projects

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Students taking part in the mass exodus to and from classes each day have been treated to a newly beautified campus landscape.


From South Quad and the Grotto to DeBartolo Quad and Notre Dame Avenue, projects were completed to accommodate students’ walking patterns and to streamline overall campus upkeep.


Sarah Misener, associate vice president for Campus Services, said the project ideas originated from reviews conducted by Landscape Services and Facilities Design Operations.


Landscape Services and Facilities Design Operations review areas of campus and prioritize landscape installation renewal projects on an annual basis,” Misener said.


Misener said the Landscape Services team begins reviewing campus project possibilities in the winter months and sets completion dates for the summer months. Because shrubs and plants on campus require annual renewal, Misener said, Landscape Services must narrow down possible new projects to a manageable list that will then be added to the summer workload.


“Summer months represent the best time to do much of the planting work on campus,” Misener said.  “Consequently, several projects are staged with completion dates that are prior to or near the start of the academic year.”


Major projects this summer included the installation of brick sidewalk trim, perennial beds planted on South Quad, the placement of mulch around trees on South Library Quad and the realignment of pedestrian crosswalks near the Grotto, she said.


DeBartolo Quad and the gazebo on Debartolo Quad, were refurbished, and visitor-friendly landscape was added, Misener said.  Notre Dame Avenue’s aging and damaged trees were replaced and more were planted along parts of the avenue’s gaps, she said.


 Lyons Hall and the Morris Inn also saw completed renovations this summer, and work was done on the Center for Flow Physics and Control White Field Facility, Misener said.


“[These projects] add to the students’ experience … by creating and maintaining beautiful spaces on which to study, pray, work and play,” she said.


Misener said campus landscaping projects are funded by donations from benefactors, which was the case with this summer’s work on the Morris Inn, or managed within the annual landscape budget.


Freshman Ian Flyke said he was pleased with the updates.


“I really like the campus changes, especially the rock courtyard between DeBartolo [Hall] and the Snite [Museum of Art],” he said.


Flyke said he began to follow Notre Dame’s landscaping team’s Twitter handle, @NDgroundscrew, to see updates on their work and pictures of continuing projects.


“I really like seeing what they’re up to now,” he said. “They have entertaining tweets.”


Senior Chris Ayala said he is impressed by the work done by the landscaping team.


“I think the landscaping is nice, but I really miss being able to sit on the raised ledge outside DeBartolo [Hall],” he said. “It’s aesthetically pleasing, but beyond that I don’t see any tangible benefits.”


Sophomore Ethan Muehlstein said he appreciated the improvements in front of Lyons Hall on South Quad.


“In the future, I’d like to see more flowers on God Quad so you can walk along flower paths, and overall more lights so you can highlight the gardens at night,” he said. “Nevertheless, the work the Landscaping team does is phenomenal and I am proud to go here and see it daily.”


Sophomore Haley Van Steenwyk said she is “still getting used to the changes,” especially by DeBartolo Hall.


“I like that they’re doing something different, but I think they should have had it all completed before we got to campus,” she said. “I like that they have more plants everywhere, but I feel like we’re still waiting to see a finished product.”


Contact Kyle Witzigman at kwitzigm@nd.edu
 

CSUN-al Gardening series educates community about importance of animal …

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CORRECTION: The gardening workshop is called CSUN-al Gardening, not CSUN al-Gardening.

The CSUN Botanic Garden hosted a gardening workshop last Saturday morning.

The workshop was about converting a garden into an Audubon Habitat and was conducted in Chaparral Hall by Alan Pollack, chair of the San Fernando Valley Audubon Society.

Pollack introduced different ways to convert gardens into a wildlife habitat for plants and animals. He explained the importance of preserving wildlife in gardens, conserving water and providing shelter to animals.

“Our wildlife is important because life on our planet depends upon our biodiversity,” Pollack said. “We need all the wild animals and the wild plants that live in our planet in order for humans to survive.”

Brenda Kanno, Botanic Garden manager, said that more than half of the 120 attendees came from CSUN’s surrounding communities.

Kanno said she feels good because these events are helping CSUN be a good neighbor.

Lynn Ruger, a resident in Woodland Hills, has been coming with her husband to the gardening classes since 2006.

“They are really great and we are grateful to CSUN for being supportive of this,” said Ruger. “We have learned a lot.”

CSUN staff that attended the workshop said they were pleased that the Botanic Garden continues providing this important information for them.

Susan Mueller, history department administrative support specialist, said she wants to “reduce her footprint,” meaning she wants to reduce her demand on the Earth’s ecosystem, by recycling and composting fruits and vegetables. She is using native plants now to help her achieve her goal.

Louise Adams, testing center administrative support staff, said she has also joined the movement to protect wildlife in gardens. She has already removed her lawn at home to bring in more native plants.

Workshop facilitator Pollack offered to personally help some of the attendees with their home gardens, and provided them with his business card.

“I hope to plant seeds in people’s brains that will encourage them to think about what kind of garden they have and [how] to make it wildlife friendly,” Pollack said.

He also added that a number of colleges are becoming more wildlife-friendly and have vastly improved in their landscaping.

Kanno said that the drought-tolerant landscaping approach has already started at CSUN.

“The campus recognizes the need to reduce water usage when they can, [while] still having something attractive to look at.”

The CSUN-al Gardening series has taken place the past 8 years and according to Kanno they will continue in the future.

The next workshop will be held in January 2014. The main topic will be about rose pruning.

Gardens and parks rise to the top – eco

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Landscaping in newer public housing developments has reached a new level as gardens and shared amenities are now designed to be above ground.

The evolution of these green spaces was seen among the various projects taking home prizes at the Housing and Development Board Awards which were given out on Tuesday. They were given to contractors and developers of HDB projects for good design and constructing homes well.

Take, for example, Casa Clementi in Clementi Avenue 1. The one-year-old estate boasts a 15,000 sq m landscaped deck that links the third storeys of the development’s 10 blocks. Residents of the 2,234-unit estate enjoy amenities such as children’s playgrounds, senior citizens’ exercise corners and pavilions spread across this landscaped deck.

Well-manicured bushes and tall trees line the expansive space and cover up airwells so that carparks on the first and second storeys are out of sight.

At the awards ceremony, Casa Clementi’s contractor Straits Construction won the Distinguished Construction Award for its quality work, innovative building methods, project management and efforts to engage the community, while its designer Surbana International Consultants won the top award for the design.

Other projects with well-thought-out raised green spaces include Punggol Breeze, a 12-block HDB project with 964flats; Punggol Spectra, which has 1,142 units; and Senja Green in Bukit Panjang, which has 474 units.

Bounded by Punggol Drive and Edgefield Plains, the Punggol Breeze estate, which was completed in December last year, has a 270m linear roof garden atop the multi-storey carpark, and is the longest roof garden in Punggol.

The 7,000 sq m common green is planted with palm trees and willows, which will help reduce heat from the atmosphere and glare from the windows of the flats.

Ms Hoo Xin Yu, executive landscape architect from the development and procurement group at HDB, says that where possible, designers will “try to maximise areas for greenery and landscaping”.

Indeed, since HDB started building flats 52 years ago, the landscape surrounding public housing has gone from basic trees and children’s playgrounds to precincts that incorporate plants and trees, lawn areas and play stations for multi-generational use.

Plants and flowering shrubs are carefully chosen for their durability, ability to provide shade and easy maintenance.

Since 2009, all new multi-storey carpark roofs have been designed as accessible roof gardens, and planter systems were put in for large plants. Spaces have also been set aside for residents to start community gardens in the future.

Compared to the days when carparks were situated in front of flats, Ms Hoo, 26, says: “Instead of looking out at cars, the playground and gardens are a much nicer view. Also, this design makes the communal areas safer as they are free from traffic flow.”

On Wednesday, HDB launched a landscape guide to help developers plan better public housing areas and showcase current good designs.

The move is timely as newer neighbourhoods such as the upcoming Bidadari estate in Woodleigh, and potential public housing sites at the soon-to-be- demolished Paya Lebar airbase and Southern Waterfront City in Tanjong Pagar will be going into the design phase.

Ms Hoo says while HDB blocks may look similar, no two gardens are alike because designing landscapes depends on the size of the land.

For example, Punggol Breeze has a “meandering garden” while Casa Clementi’s is more linear.

But do not expect sky gardens, such as those in The Pinnacle@Duxton in Outram and the upcoming SkyVille@Dawson in Queenstown, in most of HDB’s new projects.

In those developments, residents have access to gardens that can be found every 11 storeys in the 40-storey-tall Woha- designed SkyVille@Dawson, and on the 50th storey at The Pinnacle@Duxton.

This is because the pool of plants which can survive at such heights are small, and the garden can be difficult and costly to maintain. For example, trees, which can provide shade but have huge roots, cannot be planted too high up as there is no space for their roots to grow.

Ms Hoo says: “We’ve had to change the way we design, so that we can maximise every site, and still have space for playgrounds and parks, even if it’s above ground level.

“These common areas and the greenery help make the neighbourhood look nicer than just having flats alone, and encourage residents to spend time outside and meet their neighbours too.”

Casa Clementi resident Thomas Tey, who lives in a four-room flat, loves how the gardenscape has the feel of private condominiums.

The 37-year-old real estate valuer, who often walks his dog there, says: “My friends even expect there to be a pool, just like in a condo. It’s a one-of-a-kind design where you get the garden this big, so I’m really impressed.”