Ready For Fresh Veggies?

2012 Barryville Farmers' Market Opens This Saturday May 19th  10am to 1pm Come to Barryville for local food and farm products.  10 returning vendors plus 4 new vendors will provide you with fruits, vegetables, flowers, meats, eggs, baked goods, jams, wine, cheese, pasta, teas, and more.  The Market will be open rain or shine every Saturday until the end of October.

Located just behind "The River Market"
3385 Route 97, Barryville New York

 

 Stay Tuned for Special Events

Check our website for special events throughout the season.

Buy local- Buy fresh- Eat well- Support local farms

See you at the Market!
Sincerely,
Greg Swartz
Market Manager
(570) 224-8013
greg@willowwisporganic.com

Sullivan Renaissance Annual Conference HUGE SUCCESS

Steve Vegliante and Randy Resnick

First, do apologize (I do that a lot) for being AFK from the blog for a few days, but with the onset (almost) of spring here in Sullivan County, there are a lot of goings on.  This past Saturday I attended the Sullivan Renaissance Annual Conference over at CVI, and walked out of the event at the very end so excited and ready to get to work on the Rock Hill Category C project that I forgot my camera...if you know me, you know I had to be pumped up to forget my camera.

 First up on the list for myself was taking a peek at the new Renaissance Collection.  This new collection of perennial plants have been chosen by Sullivan Renaissance staff for their ability to not only survive, but thrive in the challenging growing conditions of Sullivan County.  My own favorites are the Salvia and Russian Sage...what can I say, am a big fan of purple here.

Next up on the day's agenda were the Sullivan First Awards.  Recipients included Spencer Daniel Agency, Aero Star Petroleum,  the Eagle Plaza Mall, Berni's Holiday Restaurant in Rock Hill, Jim & Betty Lund of the Woodbourne Action Committee, Dave & Phyllis Moore from Neversink, Laurie Kilgore a mural painter from the Monticello area, Barbara Sush,  Saint James Episcopal Church of Callicoon, and last but not least, Keith Gilmore and the Recovery Center in Monticello.  All of these folks, businesses and organizations have contributed a lot to making Sullivan County a better place to live.

 

The highlight of the morning was the Keynote speaker, Joe (Gardener) Lamp L' from the television show, "Growing a Greener World".  First, it was very refreshing to find a star of his caliber to be so personable with everyone there, his words and actions both genuine  and from the heart.  He shared a lot of wonderful ideas with all of us using both video and clips from his show, the audience captivated by his words...Joe has all the qualities one looks for in a great storyteller, and his address was an enjoyable one that I would have liked to have seen go even longer than it did.  One site he shared with us that I want to pass along is for Ample Harvest where the concept is pretty simple..."Plant a row for the hungry."  In these hard economic times with our food pantries hard pressed to keep up with the demand, it is advice all those who garden should take and implement.

The workshops were as always, entertaining, educational and well attended. 

It was a great event as everyone prepares for spring, puts the finishing touches on their own applications for the 2012 Sullivan Renaissance.

Help Rails to Trails Conservancy Defeat Multiyear Transportation Bill

Those of us that live in the geographical footprint of the "Town of Fallsburg" know the importance of our own small rail corridor...well, if Republicans have their way, such Rail Trails, hiking and biking paths are in serious jeopardy, and the Rails to Trails Conservancy is asking for your help.

Press Release

Some are calling the draft multiyear transportation bill being considered in the U.S. House of Representatives "the worst bill ever."

It's hard to disagree with this regrettable distinction from a trails, walking and bicycling perspective. We need to stop the bill, now!

The bill as it is currently written would:

• Eliminate dedicated funding for trails, walking and bicycling;
• Destroy long-term dedicated funding for transit created by the Reagan Administration;
• Do away with the rail-trail eligibility category in the Transportation Enhancements (TE) program;
• Put our children in harm's way by eliminating the Safe Routes to School program;
• Fail to maximize its job creation potential, since trail, walking and bicycling projects create substantially more jobs per dollar than do highway projects;
• Increase America's dependence on foreign oil; and
• Contribute to our growing health and obesity crises.

The bill could come to the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives in the next few days. Since it is beyond possibility of repair, we need to ensure that it does not leave the House floor.

We have no time to lose. Ask your representative right now to vote against the bill.

I'll be doing everything in my power to ensure this bill is defeated in the House. I truly hope you'll join me.

Even as we are working feverishly to defeat this House bill, please note that a Senate bill--which also fails to preserve dedicated funding for trails, walking and bicycling--will likely come to the Senate floor for debate and a vote next week as well. (When it rains, it pours!) We'll be messaging you about that, too. Apologies in advance for so many messages from us in so short a timeframe, but please know that we wouldn't write you so much if it weren't absolutely necessary.

Thank you much,

Kevin Mills
Vice President of Policy and Trail Development
Rails-to-Trails Conservancy

Please Bring Your Own Bags When Shopping

Go to any store, any day of the week and start counting how many bags, both plastic and paper, are being used to put our purchases in...those bags use a lot of very valuable natural resources. Fourteen MILLION trees a year are harvested just too supply Americans with the over 10 Billion paper bags we use each and every year. Plastic bags in this day of four dollar a gallon gasoline consume some 12 million barrels of oil in the making of the 380 Billion plastic bags we use (just here in America) each and every year. These starling figures do not include natural resources consumed in the production, warehousing and transportation of these single use bags. At at time when the world's natural resources are being out paced by our ravenous human consumption rate, we simply cannot afford this frivolous use of our world's natural resources.

Sadly, the strain on our natural resources in the name of single use bags is only the beginning of the story. Of the 380 Billion plastic bags we use each year, only about 100 Billion end up being recycled...some of the rest end up in landfills for hundreds of years, the ones that do deteriorate leaving behind a toxic legacy, while others end up in our environment where they kill birds, land and marine animals. It is estimated that plastic pollution kills one million birds each and every year. Add to this all the toxins being pumped into our air and water during the various production stages for these single use bags, and it is a source of pollution we can do without.

Please, for your children, end the use of single use bags by bringing your own. It is an easy step we can all take to make this world a better place for all of its inhabitants.

Re-Usable Shopping Bag Sources

ReUse It
One Bag at a Time
Eco Bags

Factoid of The Day

Did you know that only one in five plastic water bottles sold here in America ends up being recycled?