The Saw Mill River Coalition

Upcoming Dates:
Saturday, November 20th at Lawrence Street!
Sunday, December 12th at Farragut Avenue.

November’s vine-cutting will be held this Saturday, November 20th, NOT Sunday November 21st as was previously the plan. Additionally, the vine-cutting will be held at a NEW LOCATION! We will be expanding the project to a new site along the South County Trailway at Lawrence Street in Ardsley/Dobbs Ferry. The time will remain the same, from 9:30am-12:30pm.

The invasive vines are a watershed-wide threat and we are going to try to expand our reach when possible. There will be a simultaneous clean-up going at Lawrence and near-by sites with volunteer river clean-up crews from the Suburbia Roller Derby and Hillside Nature Guides, so it should be a fun day to come out!

Directions to Lawrence Site:

From Saw Mill River Parkway going NORTH: Make a right at exit 16, Lawrence Street. Make immediate left onto frontage road to park. More parking may be available on Saw Mill River Road, east of the parkway.

From Saw Mill River Parkway going SOUTH: Make a left at exit 16, Lawrence Street. Make immediate left onto frontage road to park. More parking may be available on Saw Mill River Road, east of the parkway.

We will meet on the South County Trailway where it crosses Lawrence Avenue. Click here to view a map of the location.

If you have a group that is interested in scheduling your own event or would like help organizing a vine-cutting project, e-mail emily@groundworkhv.org or call 914-375-2151.

Future Vine-Cutting will be held at the Farragut Avenue Site, Meet on trail North of parking lot
Exit 13 (Farragut Avenue),
off Saw Mill River Parkway (going North)
9:30 am – 12:30 pm

From Saw Mill River Parkway going NORTH, exit 13, Farragut Avenue. Turn right into parking lot.

From Saw Mill River Parkway going SOUTH, exit 11, Tompkins Avenue-go left to Saw Mill River Road, turn left. Go to Farragut Avenue and turn left, then turn left into the parking lot. Access also from Saw Mill River Road (Ardsley side).

We will meet on the South County Trail north of the parking lot. Refreshments will be provided. We will supply all of the materials and tools necessary, but if you have your own tools feel free to being them. Please wear close-toed shoes!

Please RSVP if you are going to be able to attend. Hope to see you there!

On April 2, 2010, the NY Times published an article about a 20-year mapping project, carried out by the Brooklyn Botanical Garden.  They are hoping to save dozens of endangered native plants using the information that they have gathered. Read the article or check out the mapping project to find out which native plants are growing near you.

January, 2010 Stormwater Roundtable Keynote powerpoint presentation by Sandeep Mehrotra, Chair of the Hastings Environmental Commission and Vice President, Hazen & Sawyer P.C., Environmental Engineers and Scientists. It covers Low Impact Development/Better Site Design Principles & Techniques – What they are, Why they matter in flooding and water quality.

We had some brave and fierce volunteers out on Sunday! We got a lot done despite the chill. Click the link to read Aman Ali’s article in the Journal News about Sunday’s effort.

The next Free-A-Tree Vine-Cutting will be Saturday, March 13th from 9:30am-12:30pm at the Farragut Avenue site. Hope to see you there! Please send a quick e-mail to emily@groundworkhv.org, or leave a comment on this post if you know that you will be able to attend.

On Saturday, January 23rd, over 50 representatives from watershed community  Planning Boards,  Zoning Boards of Appeal, Conservation Boards, along with Village Administrators, Mayors and Elected Officials gathered at the Irvington Library to discuss low impact development and better site design principles.

The group learned about techniques applicable to our area and how they can be incorporated into the review of local development projects and site plans. The event was a great success. Participants exchanged many observations and ideas about how municipalities along our shared river can work together to create a healthy river and healthy communities.

The Schedule for the day was as follows:

• 8:30 am: Registration & Continental Breakfast
• 9:00 am – 12:00 pm: Keynote and Better Site Design Planning Exercise.
• KEYNOTE: Low Impact Development/Better Site Design Principles & Techniques – What they are, Why they matter in flooding and water quality: Sandeep Mehrota, Chair, Hastings Environmental Commission; Vice President, Hazen & Sawyer P.C., Environmental Engineers and Scientists
• Local examples of “Good and Bad” stormwater abatement projects.
• Municipal Roundtable Site Planning Exercise: Local experts and resource professionals will lead and provide assistance to participants in reviewing sample site plans such as a single residential lot and a small parking lot.
• Discuss lessons learned from planning exercise.

Participants earned three credits of NYS Mandatory Credit for Planning & Zoning Board

The Roundtable was sponsored by Groundwork Hudson Valley/Saw Mill River Coalition, Greenburgh Nature Center and Greenburgh Environmental Forum, Federated Conservationists of Westchester

Funding was provided by NYC DEC/Hudson River Estuary Program, Westchester Community Foundation, and US EPA Targeted Watershed Program