Author Archives: glbiener

Kids/Teens for Earth presents the 3rd Annual Environmental Film Festival: “Green Screen”

In an effort to raise awareness about environmental issues in the region, for the third year in a row, Kids/Teens for Earth is coordinating with other local groups including Westwood Library, Pascack Sustainability Group, and Hillsdale Green Team to present “Green Screen” – a series of environmental documentaries and films for audiences of various age groups. Kids/Teens for Earth is a local environmental group that teaches children to learn to live sustainably in modern society.

The film festival will be held in multiple venues from Feb. 4th to Feb. 12, 2012. The highlights of the festival include: Waste land – a movie on trash based art (Pascack Theater on Feb. 7th at 7 pm), Gasland – a movie on fracking and its consequences (Hillsdale Library on Feb. 9th at 6:30 pm) and
Pipe Dreams – addresses the contentious issue of Keystone pipeline (Westwood Library on Feb. 4th at 2pm).

Couple of kids movies will also be shown including Disney’s African Cats (Hillsdale Library on Feb. 12 at 1:00 pm) and Pixar’s Wall-E (Westwood Library on Feb. 12 at 3:00 pm). There will be kids activities before the movies on Feb. 12. For more information and for detailed schedule visit Westwood library website at: http://westwoodpubliclibrary.weebly.com/index.html

Schedule at a Glance:

Pascack Theater, Westwood, NJ
Tuesday, February 7th at 7p.m. ~ WASTE LAND. Academy award nominee and winner of more than 20 film awards explores the transformative power of art within one of the of largest garbage dumps in the world. Advanced tickets can be obtained at the Westwood Library or at the Pascack Theater night of screening. $5.00 suggested donation.

Hillsdale Library
Thursday, February 9th at 7p.m. ~ GASLAND. Talk at 6:30 p.m. by Karina Wilkenson of Food & Water Watch. When filmmaker Josh Fox is asked to lease his land for drilling, he embarks on a cross-country odyssey uncovering a trail of secrets, lies and contamination. Film sponsored by Kids/Teens for Earth.
Saturday, February 11th at 1:00p.m. ~ CHEMICAL REACTION. This movie is about pesticide use in our backyards. Followed by Q&A session. Sponsored by Hillsdale Green Team.
Sunday, February 12th at 1:30p.m. ~ Disney Nature movie AFRICAN CATS. Sponsored by Kids/Teens for Earth. Activity: “How to make a nature documentary in your backyard” will take place at 1:00p.m. Registration on-site.

Westwood Library:
Saturday, February 4th at 10:30a.m. ~ NAUSICAA. Hayo Miyazaki masterpiece. Presented by the Otaku (anime) Club. This film appropriate for age 14 and older.
Saturday, February 4th at 2p.m. ~ THE LAST MOUNTAIN. Any Times critic pick on a very timely issue. Presented by the Pascack Sustainability Club and the Sierra Club.
Monday, February 6th at 7p.m. ~ PIPE DREAMS. Story of the greatest environmental battle in the U.S. today. Moderated by Matt Smith, 350.org, Tar Sands Action Northern New Jersey and Karena Wilkinson of Food, Water and Watch.
Thursday, February 9th at 7p.m. ~ GREENING THE DESERT. Hosted by Westwood Environmental Committe Kevin Brennan, this short film will be followed by a lecture on the growing permaculture movement.
Sunday, February 12th at 3p.m. ~ WALL-E. Time magazines choice for top film of the decade. A don’t miss Pixar film! Environmental Craft program for kids ages 7-12 will be held at 1:30 p.m., prior to film. Registration is required. Please sign up at the Library or by calling (201)664-0583. Space is limited. Both the film and craft program are sponsored by Westwood Girl Scout Troop 389!

Calendar

Second Chance Toys Drive

Meadowbrook and Smith Green Teams are collaborating with
‘Kids for Earth’, a local environmental group and ‘Pascack Valley H.S. Environmental Club’ to collect gently used plastic toys which will be
donated to a non-profit group ‘Second Chance Toys’ for distribution
to needy kids!

Drop Off Details
What: Gently used, bagged, and labeled Children’s Toys (Plastic Only)
When: Dec. 5 — Dec. 15
Where: Smith School, Meadowbrook School, PVHS, or Hillsdale Library
Please donate bagged ‘plastic’ toys in good condition only!

Second Chance Toys is a 501(c)3 non-profit which rescues unwanted plastic toys that are gently used and distributes them to children in need through local community organizations, while at the same time, helping the environment. (More info at secondchancetoys.org)

For more information please contact
Cheyl Mercer at chezee@hotmail.com or
Jacqui Riordan at jacquirio@gmail.com or
Stefanie Breuer at breuer.stefanie@gmx.de

Introduction to Permaculture Gardening

The Hillsdale Green Team, in collaboration with the Hillsdale Community Garden, will present a free program on permaculture gardening at the Hillsdale Library on Thursday, November 3, from 7-8:30pm.
It is open to anyone who is interested and all are welcome.

Permaculture is a holistic approach to landscape design and human culture. It is an attempt to integrate several disciplines, including biology, ecology, geography, agriculture, architecture, appropriate technology, gardening and community building. Three local permaculture gardeners will introduce the topic, explain why and how permaculture is beneficial to us and to the environment, and how permaculture techniques can be incorporated into the suburban garden.

Colin Keegan received his permaculture design certificate in 2008, and
has since applied permaculture design in the fields of organic farming
and suburban homesteading, as well as at the Hillsdale Community Garden.
He has lectured on the topic for various non-profit organizations and at
Ramapo College.
Charlie Zelhof ‘s permaculture garden in Hackensack has been featured at www.nativebergen.com. He will speak on practical home-scale application of permaculture techniques.
Kevin Brennan is a senior at Westwood High School, and has been involved in several permaculture projects, at locations including the Hillsdale Community Garden, Westwood High School and his family’s home in Westwood.
For further information on the program, contact Elizabeth Scholl at
ejscholl@verizon.net

Run Around Town

The Pascack Valley Triathlon Committee with Green Team Hillsdale invite you to join  

Hillsdale Council President Michael Giancarlo for a

5K Run Around Town

Thursday, August 25

7:00 pm

Starting at the Hillsdale Train Station

Whether you are tuning up for the upcoming Valley Triathlon at Stonybrook Swim Club on Saturday, August 27 or just interested in running for your own health, you are welcome to run with Hillsdale’s Council President. 

This event is offered as part of Hillsdale’s effort to earn the distinction as a “Healthy Town” from www.mayorswellnesscampaign.org by working with Walk Around Town.  Go to www.walkaroundtown.org to commit to walk/bike/run around Hillsdale and possibly donate to the American Cancer Society.

Mayor’s Wellness Campaign

Join Council member Douglass Frank at 10 am on Sunday,

August 14th at the library for a brisk walk. This walk is an

event offered as part of the Mayor’s Wellness Campaign ( www.mayorswellnesscampaign.org ) and Walk Around

town www.walkaroundtown.org Please join us!

The Green Team Helps You to Help Those in Need

  The Hillsdale Green team is sponsoring a season-long collection of homegrown produce from backyard gardeners to benefit the local food pantries, including those in Hillsdale, Westwood and Park Ridge. If you have extra vegetables or fruits from your garden harvest, please consider donating them to our local food pantries to help your neighbors in need. Most food pantries do not offer fresh produce to clients.

The collections will be every Sunday from 11:30am to 1:30pm, at the Helping Hands Food Pantry, located in the United Methodist Church, at the corner of Hillsdale Avenue and Magnolia Avenue in Hillsdale. Food can be dropped off at the food pantry entrance on Magnolia Avenue.

The collection is part of Ample Harvest, a national campaign to connect backyard gardeners with surplus food with local food pantries. To learn more about the national program, visit  ampleharvest.org.  For specific questions about the Pascack Valley collection, please contact Hillsdale Green Team Ample Harvest coordinators Elizabeth Scholl at ejscholl@verizon.net or 201-803-8897, or Cheryl Mercer at chezee@hotmail.com or 201-666-1106.

A Fitness Challenge for Hillsdale Residents

If 100 residents (as an individual or family) and employees of Hillsdale commit to walk/bike/run the streets of Hillsdale and register at www.walkaroundtown.org where you can choose to donate to the American Cancer Society, Hillsdale can be awarded the designation of a “Healthy Town” by The Mayors Wellness Campaign (MWC) . The MWC is a foundation funded by grants that support mayors as champions of community health.  The MWC created the “Healthy Town” designation to recognize the communities in which mayors have done an extraordinary job of promoting active living and healthy lifestyles.

 

Here’s How It Works (It is this easy!)

  • Register at www.walkaroundtown.org  where you can choose to donate to the American Cancer Society.
  • Walk/Bike/Run alone or in a group all the streets of Hillsdale (or as many as you would like) during the summer and fall of 2011
  • Visit Green Team Hillsdale at www.mygreenhillsdale.org to share your results.

 

Get Fit With the Hillsdale Mayor and Council Members

  • Mayor Max Arnowitz would like to share his walking route with all interested residents. Join him at the steps of the Hillsdale Borough Hall (380 Hillsdale Ave.) on July 6th at 10:00 am for a walk up Hillsdale Ave.
  • Meet Council member Andy Weinstein at the front of the Hillsdale library for a bike ride on Wednesday, June 29th at 7:30 pm and another biking event TBA
  • Join Council member Douglass Frank at 10 am on Sunday, August 14th at the corner of Hillsdale and Colonial for a brisk walk.

Go for a run with Council president Michael Giancarlo.  Meet him at the Train Station at 10:00am on Sunday, August 28.

Green Team Meeting Open to all Residents

Hillsdale’s next green team meeting is June 20th at 7:00 pm.  All residents are welcome to attend and learn more about how to get involved.  The green team will also be in Veteran’s park this Saturday, June 11 from 10- 3 to introduce residents to wonderful new programs like www.walkaroundtown.org or http://www.ampleharvest.org/.  There will be literature about each program and green team members will be there to answer all questions. Hope to see you soon!

Relay For Life

The American Cancer Society’sRelay for Life of Pascack Valley 
Saturday, May 14 – Sunday, May 15, 2011

4:00 p.m. to 6:30 a.m.

Hosted at Pascack Valley High School
200 Piermont Avenue, Hillsdale, NJ