Tonight at 7 p.m. at the Waterfront Museum in Red Hook (290 Conover St.), Captain Samantha Heyman and Captain/Shipwright Nicholas Rogers of the Hudson River Sloop Clearwater will present "Celebration of the 40th Anniversary of the Launching and Restoration of the historic Hudson Sloop Clearwater."
Launched in 1969 after years of fundraising by singer Pete Seeger, the Clearwater sails the Hudson river, hosting public tours and school groups. The historic vessel's purpose is to educate about New York's waterways and the environment.
Next week, from July 30 to August 2, the Clearwater will be docking in Red Hook. For more information about the lecture or the ship, visit www.waterfrontmuseum.org or www.clearwater.org.
Photo courtesy of the Hudson River Sloop Clearwater.
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This summer the Enviromedia Mobile, the "traveling nature and maritime museum on wheels," has been touring Brooklyn. On Saturday it visited Governors Island, and on Sunday it visited IKEA/Erie Basin Park. This photo was taken at Erie Basin Park, and shows Urban Divers members preparing a tipi for the day’s "Urban Trekker Tour 2009." The festival featured a variety of environmentally oriented activities, including an eco-cruise, birds of prey demonstration, catch-and-release fishing, live underwater video exploration and eco activities under the tipi.
Upcoming festival dates are: August 30 and September 27 at Governors Island, August 16 at Valentino Park, August 15 and September 13 at IKEA/Erie Basin Park, and July 26 at Bensonhurst Park. For more information about each day, visit www.urbandivers.org.
Photo by Mary Frost
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At last night's Building Brooklyn Awards, held by the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce, two eco-friendly projects were honored. Galapagos Art Space, a DUMBO venue on track to LEED Certifcation, received the arts and culture award. Pictured here are Galapagos director Robert Elmes (left) with Tony Daniels of Cycle Architecture, the LEED-accredited architect who designed the space. The Perry Building at the Brooklyn Navy Yard, received the National Grid Award, honored as Brooklyn’s first multi-tenanted green building.
Click here for Eagle writer Linda Collins' full report on the event.
Photo by Jennifer MacFarlane
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Now through July 18th, the Brooklyn Cyclones and National Grid present Going Green Week at KeySpan Park.
The Cyclones’ Going Green Week will feature National Grid expo tables on the ballpark’s concourse level to educate and motivate fans, regarding ways to be more environmentally conscious.
National Grid also offers a variety of energy efficiency tips, valuable rebates for the installation of energy efficiency products and information on its web site, www.thinksmartthinkgreen.com.
At last night's game, the first 2,500 fans in attendance received Going Green tote bags, presented by National Grid.
On July 18th, the first 2,500 fans in attendance will receive a 100% Organic Cotton T-shirt, presented by National Grid. That night, the Cyclones will also be wearing Bamboo Jerseys, made of all-natural fibers.
Tickets to Cyclones games are available at the team's web site.
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The Brooklyn Public Library is hosting two green job workshops in the upcoming weeks. Attendees will learn about the next generation of jobs that will have a positive impact on the environment, find out which types of businesses need green workers, and what skills and training is needed to land a great job.
The first meeting will be Tuesday, July 28, from 6 - 7:30 p.m. at the Business Library at 280 Cadman Plaza West. The second will be Tuesday, August 18 from 6 - 7:30 p.m. at the Central Library, at 10 Grand Army Plaza in the second floor meeting room.
Register online here or call 718.623.7000 (select option 4).
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If you’ve ever wanted to escape city life without being too far from the city, you might take some cues from artist Mary Mattingly. After several years of planning, she is now living on an inland deck barge — dubbed Waterpod — currently docked at Governors Island’s Yankee Pier.
Built from recycled materials and eco-friendly products, Waterpod is a sustainable living space, with its inhabitants (all artists) living almost completely off the barge itself. Chickens and a garden supply the food, and the barge relies solely on solar power, bicycle power and a picohydro system (water power).
Designed as a public work of art, since it launched in late May (it was first docked at the Brooklyn Navy Yard), it has showcased artwork and served as an educational tool, with visits from three to four school groups a week, said Mattingly.
Waterpod has open hours for the public to take tours. This past weekend, inhabitants of the barge hosted a yoga session, after which participants were encouraged to tour Governors Island’s green landscape.
The barge will be touring the Hudson and East Rivers, docking in each of the five boroughs. So far, it has had a strong presence in Brooklyn. Along with the Navy Yard, Waterpod was previously docked at the Sheepshead Bay Marina. For almost two weeks in August, the barge will visit Brooklyn Bridge Park.
Sustainable Living
Waterpod measures about 120 by 18 feet. It is made up of four separate spaces: a public area; space for the garden; an area that includes a bathroom, kitchen and gathering space; and a structure of 10 by 60 feet that’s broken up into sleep spaces.
Although the space to sleep is small and the barge is sometimes shared by up to five people, Mattingly (pictured left with Alison Ward and Eve K. Tremblay, artists and residents of the Waterpod) says it wasn’t that hard of an adjustment. “My apartment in Long Island City was quite small as well,” she laughed.
A typical day for the Waterpod occupants — all volunteers — starts at around 6:30 a.m., said Mattingly. Morning activities include visiting the chickens, cleaning their pen and watering the garden. The group then makes coffee with a “rocket stove,” which is a steel drum in which scraps are burned, made for the Waterpod Project by students in California.
Mattingly explained that for the remainder of a day, inhabitants clean the deck, check e-mails, make phone calls, work on the systems on the boat that aren’t yet complete, and take some leisure time.
The experience of living on the Waterpod has been good so far, Mattingly noted. “It’s really nice to sleep here at night. It’s peaceful.” But, she said, “it’s more isolating than I had imagined.”
There have been some challenges that Mattingly didn’t anticipate before moving on to the barge. “We don’t have enough food,” she said, because the chickens only produce one to two eggs a day and the vegetables — although getting fuller, particularly because of the rain — haven’t been able to feed the entire group. So they have supplemented with produce from local CSAs (Community Supported Agriculture groups) and gifts they have received.
Mattingly said the group has also decided to incorporate visits to surrounding neighborhoods, something that wasn’t planned before. They would take between 20 and 40 dollars a day out to explore.
Mattingly previously thought the group would be able to rely on bicycle power, but this has also proven difficult. “I have to pedal for half an hour to get half my cell phone charged,” she said. So they’ve placed more of an emphasis on solar power, which has been good despite the rain, and a machine that generates power from rainwater. Mattingly noted that she hopes to get a wind turbine installed on the barge, but that’s also been a struggle, as the Department of Buildings doesn’t allow them in New York City.
Still, “every day I’ve been learning something new,” Mattingly says. She hopes that people who visit and learn about the Waterpod will make changes in their own lives. “We’re pushing the limits for New York City. I hope it inspires people to implement [sustainable practices] in their own lives.”
Photos by Georgine Benvenuto
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Time's Up!, New York City's direct-action environmental group, has a few bike-related events in Brooklyn listed on its web site for this coming weekend:
Tonight
Brooklyn Critical Mass, 7 p.m., with two meet-up points: the Grand Army Plaza entrance to Prospect Park or the Brooklyn side of the Williamsburg Bridge. Critical Mass is a bicycling event that was originated in 1992 in San Fransisco to raise awareness about how unfriendly the city was to cyclists. Now, Critical Masses are held in over 300 cities around the world. The Brooklyn Critical Mass started in 2004, and is a monthly celebration of bicycles and other nonpolluting means of transportation.
Coney Island Cyclone Ride, 7 p.m., with three meet-up spots: 7 p.m. at the Manhattan side of the Brooklyn Bridge (southweat corner of Chambers and Centre Street/Park Row), 7:25 in Brooklyn at the Carroll Street Drawbridge (between Nevins and Bond), or 7:50 at the 69th Street Pier in Brooklyn at the Shore Parkway bike path entrance. The Cyclone Ride goes to Coney Island Amusement Park from Manhattan, in time to see the fireworks. Once at Coney, the group spends about an hour and a half in the park, on the beach and on the boardwalk. Some people return on the subway, others ride.
Brooklyn Critical Mass After Party, 9 p.m., at the East River Bar, 97 S. Sixth St., off of Bedford Avenue, next to the Time's Up! Brooklyn Space.
Rage of Nature Benefit Party, 10:30 p.m. Ride from the party at the East River Bar, 97 S. Sixth St., to the benefit at Wow Haus, 37 Grand Ave. Live bands, B-movies, games, performances, and much more, $15.
Saturday, July 11
XUP Mechanics at Williamsburg Walks, 12 - 7 p.m., North Seventh and Bedford. The Time's Up! Mechanics will be tabling all day Saturday as part of the final Williamsburg Walks event in Brooklyn. The Co-op mechanics will be conducting free bike repair lessons, safety checks, and answering any bike related questions throughout the day.
Prospect Park Moonlight Ride, 9 p.m., meet at Grand Army Plaza, the northern entrance of Prospect Park. The ride is opened to bikers and skilled skaters, and is not a race.
Sunday, July 12
Bike Repair Class: Brakes and Gears, 2 - 4 p.m., 99 South Sixth St. off Bedford Ave. Learn how to fix your bike. All bike workshops and classes are free.
Fix Your Bike Workshop, 4 - 6 p.m., 99 South Sixth St. off Bedford Ave. Learn how to fix your bike. All bike workshops and classes are free.
For details and information, visit times-up.org.
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