ReWild Gardens Program 2023 : Call for Community Submissions

Are you interested in creating a public rewild garden? Do you need help maintaining an existing rewilded space or community garden? If you bring the Garden space, Water access and Your Commitment, we can help make the rest happen.

ReWild Long Island invites applications from community groups interested in creating and maintaining sustainable garden spaces. We offer a short and painless process to apply for and gain our support. Whether you represent a small garden club, school, faith group, community club or a well-established non-profit, you are welcome to apply.

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ReWild Long Island
ReWild Long Island Chapters

We are excited to announce that, in order to further our impact and better serve our community, we are now organizing ourselves into four chapters. The Cow Neck Peninsula Chapter will continue our work initiated in Port Washington and serve nearby areas including Manhasset, Plandome, and Roslyn. The South Nassau Chapter will encompass Rockville Center, Valley Stream, Baldwin, and nearby areas. The Mid Suffolk Chapter will cover Lake Grove, 3 Village, Ronkonkoma, Port Jeff, and nearby towns. Our newest chapter will be located on the East End, serving E. Hampton, Southampton, Montauk, and nearby areas.

We are excited for this new chapter in the history of ReWild Long Island and look forward to continuing our work towards a more sustainable and healthy future for all of us on the island.

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ReWild Long Island
Our 2022 Accomplishments and Thanks

ReWild Long Island is grateful to our volunteers, members, donors and supporters for all that you have helped us accomplish in 2022. We were able to expand the reach of our organization through 4 chapters, grow our board of directors, organize an even better Summer Program to Fight Hunger and Climate Change, and continue to bring thousands of native plants to rewilders across Long Island.

We specially thank the Peter and Jeri Dejana Foundation, The Greentree Good Neighbor Fund, The Community Chest of Port Washington and the Gardens For Good Foundation for their financial support.

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ReWild Long Island
Preparing your Compost Pile for The Winter

During the Winters, the bacteria and other micro-organisms that break down our food scraps, yard and garden waste, and other organic waste to make compost slow down and even go dormant. And only once the weather warms up, they will start to move around.
In this blog Paul Merkelson talks about are several actions you can take to ensure that your compost continues to decompose in the cold weather.

Paul Merkelson is a long time activist and founder of the Food Scrap Recycling Program at the ReWild Garden at Dodge.

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ReWild Long Island
Bokashi-based Community Composting : First Year Reflections

We just passed the one year anniversary of the Food Scrap Recycling Program at the ReWild Garden @ Dodge. There are currently 9 households recycling their food scraps. The food scraps are used to make compost which is then used in the ReWild Vegetable Garden at Dodge.

Paul Merkelson, founder of the Food Scrap ReCycling Program, reflects on the completion of the first successful year, while capturing the challenges and victories of this effort.

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ReWild Long Island
Free Native Plants! TONH Rebate Program

The Town of North Hempstead is offering residents a rebate on Native Plant Gardens.

ReWild brings you a simple guide to the process together with plants lists and designs that could be useful in your rebate application.

Get native plants for free and make your garden a pollinator magnet!

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ReWild Long Island
May 8 to July 2, 2022: The Big Plastic Plant Pot Reuse

Did you know that 99% of Plastics are derived from fossil fuels and only a mere 8% are recycled or upcycled? Plastic Plant Pots are generally #4 or #6 plastics and are not recyclable at all – not even if you “wish cycle” them into your curbside recycle bin!

Join the PLASTIC PLANT POT REUSE! We sanitize your plastic pots and return them to nurseries that can use them for the next season.

WHEN: Dropoff begins Saturday, May 15 – July 2, 2021
WHERE: Dodge Homestead, 58 Harbor Road, PW

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Sustainable Garden Tour

Join your fellow rewilders on a tour of sustainable landscapes in Port Washington, NY on June 18th, 2022, from the premises of the ReWild Garden @ Dodge, 58 Harbor Road, Port Washington.

These homes illustrate many principles of sustainable landscaping in attractive settings. Native plants provide forage and shelter for pollinators and birds. Organically grown fruits and vegetables thrive under the watchful attention of many native bees. The remains of each year turn into composted fertility that feeds the following year. The air and water are clean without any pesticides or herbicides. Water is used sparingly and wisely; captured rain water is dripped back into the aquifers beneath our feet.

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Native Companion Plants for Juicy Gardens [Video]

Want a juicy garden bursting with ripe fruit and vegetables? Inviting the right pollinators in the right season makes a huge difference to the quantity of fruits and vegetables, as also their size, shape and juiciness!

In this video blog, Raju Rajan, President of ReWild Long Island, talks about how native perennials as companion plants makes so much sense. These plants provide nectar, pollen, habitat, protection and host services for pollinators. In essense, you are growing your own native bees alongside your vegetables and fruits!

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AReWild Long IslandVideo
Louisa’s First Time Rewilding Story

Louisa is a first time rewilder who’s trying out native plants in the front yard of her home in Floral Park. She recounts her journey as a first time suburban homeowner, gardener and rewilder.

With fairly straightforward first steps, she was able to turn a crab-grass ridden front lawn into a hopeful first rewild garden delighting her and the host of pollinators she finds in her yard.

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ReWild Long Island
Conversation on Tree Law in the Town Of North Hempstead [Video]

Do you feel sad when a large healthy tree is taken down? Wondering how Long Island can stop canopy loss and ensure bio-diversity by regenerating a “green ceiling” that resists Climate Change?

ReWild Long Island and Transition Town Port Washington invite you to join a virtual forum on the Town of North Hempstead Proposed Amended Tree Laws on Tuesday, September 28th at 7:00 PM. Join us as we learn about the benefits of a strong canopy for our community and discusses key policy elements required to stop loss and start regeneration of healthy trees.

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ReWild Long IslandEvents, Video
Thank You 2021 Volunteers

We are an all-volunteer non-profit and cannot accomplish a fraction of our work without the free and enthusiastic hard work of our volunteers.

Whether it is weeding, trellising, watering, composting or harvesting - our volunteers make it happen.

So from the bottom of our hearts - Thank You!

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ReWild Long Island
Free Public Webinar: Maintenance for a Weed Free and Vibrant Native Garden [Video]

Anthony Marinello, a permaculture and rewilding expert, presents this session on Native Garden maintenance for new and experienced rewilders alike. He walks us through the seasonal calendar, discussing the do’s and don’ts of caring for native plants, with tips and tricks for weeding out unwanted.

Anthony founded Dropseed Native Landscapes to give Long Islanders the ability to transform their piece of the island into a native plant oasis to sustain both humans and wildlife alike.

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Free Public Webinar: 22 Native Plants for 2022 : How to Prep This Fall for Next Spring [Video]

As many know, Fall is a great time to plant native perennials in your yard. They go dormant over winter and come back strong in Spring and beyond.

If you are new to native plants and need help getting started, the wide variety of plants available and information can be overwhelming.

Experienced horticulturist Kim Simmen and avid native plant gardener Rebecca Vargas, both Rewild board members present an introductory session on garden preparation and native plant selection. No prior experience is required as Kimberly and Rebecca walk through the process, the plants, the planting and maintenance.

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AReWild Long IslandEvents
2021 Summer Program Zoom Series: Professor Jonathan Lehrer on Ecology and Invasion [Video] Biology

Prof Jonathan Lehrer is Chairperson at the Department of Horticulture and Urban Design at Farmingdale State College.

He presented the basics of Long Island Ecology and Invasion Biology to the student volunteers at the Summer Program To Fight Hunger and Climate Change yesterday. New rewilders would much appreciate this excellent presentation on the basics of terms such as “weed”, “native”, “invasive” and “naturalized”.

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AReWild Long IslandVideo
2021 Summer Program Zoom Series: Lily Goch on Bird Identification [Video]

Lily Goch is a Senior in High School from Merrick, Long Island. She is also one of the organizers and youth mentors at the Summer Program to Fight Hunger and Climate Change. She has a passion for the environment with a fondness for birds that has turned from interest to hobby to lifestyle. This presentation was made to introduce our Summer Program youth to the birds on Long Island.

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ReWild Long IslandVideo