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Pollinator Pathway Gardens: Gaining Local Support

February 22, 2020 by The Inside Press

Pollinator pathway garden in downtown Chappaqua. Prior to this, the area was full of weeds.

Article and Photos by Missy Fabel

Just last year at a meeting of the Earthwatch Institute, a prominent environmental non-profit, scientists declared the bee to be the most important living being on the planet. This notion was shared by Albert Einstein more than a century ago who boldly stated that “if bees disappear, humans would have four years to live.” Yet bees are at risk of extinction. In fact, in some regions of the world, they have disappeared up to 90 percent.

While that news is sobering, local residents and county-wide initiatives are doing their part to keep bees and other pollinators happily buzzing in the communities of Northern Westchester.

Bees, butterflies, birds and even bats are all pollinators that play a vital role in the transfer of pollen from one plant to another, enabling fertilization and the production of fruit and seeds. More than 30% of our food grows as a result of pollinators. Yet, the habitat loss of native plants and widespread use of pesticides and herbicides are causing worldwide decline of pollinators.

The History Behind the First Pollinator Pathway

Sarah Bergman started the very first Pollinator Pathway in Seattle more than a decade ago as part of a social and ecological project to combat the decline in pollinators. In an effort to connect two green spaces more than a mile apart, Ms. Bergman went door to door to the homeowners in-between to create a mile long 12-foot-wide corridor of pollinator friendly gardens, a literal “pathway” to sustain pollinators with pesticide-free habitat and nutrition.

With increasing public awareness of the decline of pollinators, particularly native bees, Bergman’s idea caught on. In 2018, Norwalk, Wilton and Ridgefield together with Hudson to Housatonic Regional Conservation Partnership (H2H) set up the first Pollinator Pathways in Connecticut. Westchester followed their lead and New Castle Pollinator Pathway Coalition (NCPPC) is among the more than 16 municipalities, organizations and hundreds of individuals joining Pollinator Pathways in Westchester.

Pollinator Pathways in New Castle

The New Castle Pollinator Pathway Coalition (NCPPC) is a volunteer effort consisting of individuals and organizations that support pollinators by connecting properties and green spaces to create a more hospitable environment for bees, butterflies, birds and other wildlife.

Pollinator Pathway signs have been popping up in New Castle on resident’s mailboxes and downtown near the train station in recent months. These signs mark just some of the properties that are part of the NCCPC.

According to New Castle resident Victoria Alzapiedi, founder of New Castle Healthy Yards and co-chair of NCCPC, more than 130 public and private properties are already on the Pathway and the list is growing. “I’m so excited that there are so many property owners in our community signing on to the New Castle Pollinator Pathway. Not using pesticides and other lawn chemicals and adding native plants–including specific host and nectar plants for each species of butterfly, moth, and bee–will attract these important insects to your yard and provide a haven for them to live and to thrive,” Alzapiedi explained.

Pollinator Friendly Gardens Gain Traction in Other Towns

Garden clubs and other organizations in Pleasantville, Bedford, North Castle and other towns in Westchester are also spreading the word, through education, outreach and the creation of pollinator friendly gardens.

“Our mission includes educating people about ways to help the planet,” says Phina Geiger, president of the Pleasantville Garden Club, whose members planted a demonstration garden next to a playground in Mt. Pleasant this past spring. “Many of the plants we used were ones from our yards, tried and true locally sourced native plants that people may not know about, but can come and see and be inspired to use in their own yards. The Pleasantville Garden club is also partnering with their Parks & Recreation department to promote Pollinator Pathways in other areas of town, she added.

Plans to add native and pollinator friendly plants are also in the works in Armonk. This spring, the North Castle Public Library is adding native trees, shrubs and perennials to its foundation planting as part of the New York Library Association (NYLA) state-wide Sustainable Library Certification Program. “We wanted to enhance the landscaping in front of our library,” says Edie Martimucci, Director of North Castle Public Library, “and using native plants just makes sense from an environmental and sustainability standpoint.”

Tips for Creating a Pollinator Friendly Garden

Whether you live in an apartment with a balcony, a typical suburban home, a large estate or are a commercial business in town, everyone can participate in Pollinator Pathway by avoiding the use of pesticides and choosing native plants. Nature preserves, such as Glazier Arboretum in New Castle, Eugene and Agnes Meyer Preserve in North Castle, town and county parks, schools, typical backyards and front yards, even window boxes can help support pollinators.

“It’s simple, really,” declares Filipine de Hoogland of Westchester Pollinators. “Many people already have native trees and shrubs in their yards with natural pesticide free areas. If we connect our pollinator friendly yards, we can construct pathways. Pathways create safe territory for our pollinators and other wildlife to survive.” She also suggests informing your landscaping company about the steps you are planning to take to create a pollinator friendly yard, so they can help you achieve your goals.

Year-Round Needs for Pollinators

Pollinators need nectar and pollen in all seasons. Native spring flowering trees and shrubs are an important nectar and pollen source early in the season as well as common native plants often considered “weeds,” such as the common violet. Violets provide nectar as well as leafy greens for the recently hatched butterfly larvae of the Great Spangled Fritillary. Consider leaving violets and other wildflowers in your lawn in spring.

Aster and goldenrod are vital sources of both nectar and pollen in the fall. White wood aster naturally colonizes the woodland edges common in suburban landscapes and can easily be encouraged to spread. Leaving some leaf litter in your garden or natural area also helps support pollinators by providing cover for overwintering insects.

Local Pollinator Events On the Horizon

Look for NCPPC and Westchester Pollinator events this spring and summer, including activities to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Earth Day as well as national Pollinator Week, June 22-28. In addition, mark your calendar for The Chappaqua Garden Club’s Mother’s Day weekend plant sale from May 7-10. The sale offers hundreds of native plants including specific pollinator friendly plant combination kits for sun, shade, wet and dry areas, according to Chappaqua Garden Club co-president Melanie Smith. For more information, visit chappaquagardenclub.com

Missy is a native plant landscape designer and consultant, teacher, writer and naturalist in Chappaqua. She is a Steering Committee member of the Native Plant Center at Westchester Community College, a member of the Town of New Castle Conservation Board and co-chair of the NCPPC.

For more information on Pollinator Pathways and how to start one in your town, visit: https://www.pollinator-pathway.org

How to Join the Pollinator Pathway Initiative

Include native plants on your property for all seasons
Avoid using pesticides and herbicides
Consider leaving some bare ground for nesting native bees and leaving some autumn leaves for overwintering eggs and pupae of pollinating insects

If you reside in New Castle, register at: pollinator-pathway.org/new-castle

Why are Pollinators Under Threat?

Habitat loss due to urban development and agriculture
Widespread application of pesticides
Climate change

The Harlem Wizards are Coming to Town!

January 13, 2020 by Inside Press

Chappaqua’s favorite day of hoops and alley oops is back on Sunday, January 26^that 1:30 pm. Come watch the beloved teachers of the Chappaqua Challengers as they take on the Harlem Wizards! This annual highly anticipated event, hosted by the Chappaqua School Foundation, is the definition of local family fun. Not only an opportunity to support your schools, it’s guaranteed laughs as the tables are turned and the kids cheer on their teachers.

Make this event even more memorable by purchasing the coveted Benchwarmer or Courtside Plus VIP seats! Both include premier seating, a meet & greet with the Wizards, a souvenir lanyard, team poster and discount on team jerseys. The newly introduced Benchwarmer seats, however, is the only way to watch the action straight from the Wizards bench and includes a half-court photo opp.

Don’t miss out on the fun and purchase tickets today.

Courtesy of the Chappaqua School Foundation

Byram Hills Superintendent Jen Lamia Focuses on Leadership & Collaboration

December 1, 2017 by Stacey Pfeffer

With nearly three decades of experience in the Byram Hills School District, Jen Lamia has seen educational trends come and go but in her new role as Superintendent, Lamia knows firsthand that the collaborative culture is paramount to the district’s success and goal of “creating leaders of the next generation.” The Inside Press had the opportunity to sit down with her and hear how she plans to continue keeping the district nationally ranked for its excellent reputation.

A New City resident, Lamia recalls playing school with her friends as a little girl and hearing stories about her father’s job as a principal in a New York City high school. In college she majored in English literature and initially planned to work in journalism but when she took her education classes for her minor, she knew it was the right career choice for her. Lamia has two sons, J.P, 17, and Michael, 16 and credits them for giving her a “real sense of what it is like” for high school students and their parents today.

Creating Leaders for the Next Generation

Since assuming the role of Superintendent on July 1, Lamia and the administration hit the ground running with some “lofty initiatives” in a two-day goal making retreat for 23 district administrators. Under the umbrella of creating leaders of the next generation, the faculty discussed the concept of leadership and what that means for students. Lamia feels that in order for students to become leaders they need to “identify who they are, assess what their needs are and what resources are available and figure out who can help them on their journey.”

During our hour-long conversation with much of it focused on leadership, Lamia references Simon Sinek, the popular TED speaker and leadership expert who believes that all leaders must start with the question “why?” “The administrators were asked why are they doing what they are doing? What are the outcomes for students and as an educator how are we going to get them there? The administrators worked on these answers collaboratively this summer,” explains Lamia. When asked why prospective buyers should move to the Byram Hills school district, Lamia’s answer is at the ready. She pulls out a binder that sits on her desk and answers succinctly on how the district is focused on creating leaders of the next generation. It’s a document that she and her administrators “live and breathe everyday.”

Research Underpins Decisions in the District

The district has several research initiatives underway in partnerships with leading universities and institutions. This fall, two administrators were sent to the top three universities accepting Byram Hills High School graduates with the goal of assessing whether their offerings in STEAM education were aligned with what higher educations expectations were. “There’s all this push for STEAM and the next generation standards of science but we wanted to interview our students and ask if they feel prepared.”

Similarly, when the district was choosing a new math program for K-5, the district evaluated seven programs and piloted two. Acknowledging that changes needed to be made, Lamia is quick to explain that they don’t make decisions in haste. The district’s decisions are based on careful research.

Student Wellness: A Key Focus

Lamia believes that students can’t learn until they are emotionally ready to. In order to support student readiness, the district in collaboration with BOCES has a partnership with the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence. Teachers are being trained in the whole growth mindset and mood meters. The district is also working with Stanford University to survey 6-12 grade students on stress, anxiety, support, social pressures and homework. “It is the first time we are getting a snapshot of what’s going on in the district with data. We hear anecdotally that some kids are getting too much homework and others too little but anecdotes don’t give you the big picture,” noted Lamia. “We want to hear their [student] voices and experiences.

Not every child is articulating how they feel and many kids go about their day seemingly enjoy themselves but they may be struggling.”

The district is also working with the University of Michigan and training several educators, guidance counselors and school psychologists on cognitive-based therapy to help struggling students. They also held a panel discussion for parents and addressed questions such as when to get help for a struggling student, where to get help and how long should that help last which offered parents a lot of good guidance.

Collaborative Culture

Lamia enjoys the collaborative culture of the district and feels that it is a hallmark of the district’s success. “The vision of the district and the vision of the community are aligned which doesn’t always happen elsewhere. We have incredibly knowledgeable people on our district’s board of education that bring a unique skill set and care about every kid in the community. Will there be times that people complain? Absolutely but you have to listen because there may be a nugget in there that is very valuable.”

Celebrating Individuality

Lamia notes that the Byram Hills mission statement is ‘do what you like, be who you are’. “There are kids who excel at athletics, poetry and as scientists and their talents run the gamut. When I was growing up every piece of knowledge was taught to me. Today your knowledge comes from experiences and its more critical than ever to help students determine what they like and figure out who they are.” One way the students are figuring out their passion is through the eighth grade capstone project. Students undertake a yearlong research project and it can be as diverse as studying ways to increase fundraising for their baseball team to clean water solutions in Nicaragua. Lamia believes projects like these are critical for student growth and development and to help them discover their passions.

A Lifelong Educator

Currently a doctoral candidate with Johns Hopkins University, Lamia is focusing on teacher mentoring through an online course of study. She anticipates completion of her doctorate by May and is in the process of developing an e-mentoring platform that supports pedagogical content knowledge. “The standard for pedagogy has changed. It’s not enough for teachers to read off a PowerPoint. They need to have the students engaged.” Acknowledging that professional development for teachers is often a time constraint especially when they are out of the classroom, Lamia hopes that her platform will make it more convenient for teachers to advance their skills.

Since 1990 Lamia has been with the district holding various titles such as English department curriculum chairwoman, assistant principal, assistant to the Superintendent and an assistant Superintendent for human resources. But it’s clear that she is not the type of administrator to rest on her laurels and sit behind her desk. As the interview concludes, she excuses herself as the Byram Hills Bobcats are playing a home game and she wants to catch some of it. When we get to the field, the Bobcats are winning. “That’s great,” she exclaims. Lamia wants every child in the district to succeed whether it be in the classroom or on the field. With her at the district’s helm, the chances are certainly that much greater.

Dr. Lyn McKay Shares her Love for Reading

September 1, 2015 by The Inside Press

By Dawn Greenberg

It’s both a comfort and a joy that Dr. Lyn McKay, despite the unrelenting demands of her job as the Superintendent of the Chappaqua Central School District, remains an avid book lover–and even finds time to read, both for professional development
and pleasure.

In fact, Dr. McKay has a Ph.D. in Reading in addition to her Supervision and Administration Cognate. Growing up in New Jersey, reading was always an important part of her family life from her earliest years. Early favorites included the Nancy Drew and Clara Barton, Nurse, series.

She notes that her family read the newspaper twice daily–the early morning delivery of the main paper and the evening independent paper. She was also an avid reader of comics, including Little Lulu.

“As I got older, I became a Dickens fan and then when my children were young and I was studying children’s literature at Columbia, I would read children’s classics to my own children. We loved Make Way for Ducklings, all the Angus books, and Play with Me.” Lyn’s favorite book was everybody’s favorite: The Secret Garden. “I periodically pick it up and read it even now. I just think it’s the best.”

Dr. McKay has three children and eight grandchildren with whom she happily shares her love of reading. She has two favorites she reads with the grandchildren who range from one and a half to 16-years-old.

For the little ones, Hurricane by David Weisner is one that is read very often. For those who are elementary and middle, they read A Christmas Carol together during the holidays when Dr. McKay sets up her Christmas Carol village.

To my delight, Dr. McKay and I had a chance to chat about her own as well as the District’s philosophy as it pertains to reading and her impression of the Chappaqua Children’s Book Festival. Here’s our conversation:

DG: Thinking about reading in our schools, I think obviously our teachers do a fabulous job with it. And in letting the kids drive what interests them I think that’s so important. What do you think our strengths are and what is your overarching philosophy?

Dr. McKay: My overarching philosophy is that students need to read a lot and have a lot of choice in selecting books. We want children of all ages to love reading.

DG: Everyday?

Dr. McKay: Everyday.

DG: Even in the summer?

Dr. McKay: Especially in the summer.Students should be reading what they enjoy and talking to their parents and friends about their favorite books. During the school year, as well, students should be reading during and after school each day. In our elementary school reading workshop, for example, teachers provide time for silent reading and small group book discussions. They also ensure that students select books that are on their instructional and independent levels. In other words, students are reading books that are neither too difficult nor too easy, which allows them to continually master reading skills. Teachers teach students how to select books that are on their reading levels so students do not struggle unnecessarily.

DG: Absolutely, I mean it’s hard to keep my third-grader from Harry Potter and he is not there yet.

Dr. McKay: Choice is important, too. We provide a variety of genres in our classroom libraries. We want to ensure that children are reading nonfiction as well as fiction. My own 12-year-old granddaughter loves biography. She is not in one of Chappaqua’s schools, but she probably has read more biographies at her age than I have.

DG: I love biographies. I am very much a non-fictional person.

Dr. McKay: The reader’s and writer’s workshops are critically important to us because they include vast classroom libraries that provide students with a variety of choices and ranges of reading levels to choose from. We now have more classroom libraries and choice reading at our middle schools and even at our high school than we did even five years ago.

DG: So you don’t say, “You have to read…,” you say, “You can choose to read…?”

Parents and friends provided an authentic audience for students in English 9/10 classes at Greeley. Students showcased a favorite piece of writing repre- senting many genres including literary essays, persuasive pieces, definition essays, personal narratives, reader-response pieces, and poetry. Guests also were asked to give the author feedback by writing a few comments on a notecard.

Dr. McKay: I would say both. Students should read daily and have some choice about what they read. Frequently, students select from a large variety of texts. At times, teachers require particular books and support students as they read them. At other times
students choose from teacher-selected genre. In addition, students should have opportunities each day to read for pleasure. One question you asked was about how we provide for the student who struggles and the student who is an avid reader. It is through the reader’s workshop structure, which allows teachers to easily differentiate and ensure students are reading at the appropriate levels.

DG: Right, which I think is a strength in our District.

Dr. McKay: I see it as a strength.

DG: And what would you think is a recipe for success for infecting your kids with a love of reading. If they are reluctant, what can we all do to combat that?

Dr. McKay: My answer is, “Read aloud to your children and enjoy talking with them about their favorite books.” There is lots of research indicating that reading aloud to students makes a significant difference in their comprehension and infuses a love of reading. As parents, we often think of reading aloud as what we should do with two-year-olds or four-year-olds or five-year olds, but reading aloud to older students is important as well.

I remember when my husband was reading aloud Les Miserables. He read the entire book aloud to our middle school daughter and she loved it. Children get so much more from read aloud than learning the content of a book. It increases language development, motivation, and curiosity. At the same time, parents and children can build strong relationships through read aloud.

DG: Emotional ties to the reader?

Dr. McKay: Yes. Parents sometimes think, especially with preschoolers, that it’s best to work on phonics and focus on letters and the sounds of the letters, but reading to young children is actually more important and having conversations about reading is important too. I am not talking about asking children questions about a plot, but rather having discussions about what a child predicts will happen next in a story or about what a child is curious about, for those kinds of discussions build critical thinking along with the love of reading.

One evening in June, I was in the iLab at the high school. One of our teachers, Jacqueline Abair, was having a reading and writing celebration with her ninth and tenth grade English classes. She had students write their favorite literary quotes on the walls and display their written works on posterboards.

There were parents and administrators there, and what was very exciting was the way she turned the iLab into an environment that celebrated reading and writing. The students who introduced the work stood up and read poems and then said to the audience, “Now I want you to listen to the poem a second time so you can feel it and know what it’s about.” It was a beautiful event.

Dr. McKay: It was a celebration of reading and writing in an incredible environment with a real audience. It was really so exciting!

DG: What do you think about our little book festival that we’ve started? I noticed you there with your granddaughter this year.

Dr. McKay: What really impressed me was the volume of books, the number of authors, the number of students who were just enthralled with the books…and the llamas. For my granddaughter, I don’t know what she liked more, the many books or the llamas, and I really mean that!

Dr. McKay: She loves reading and animals.

DG: Perfect.

Dr. McKay: So if there is a llama and books, you will have a very happy girl.

DG: Any favorite authors you enjoyed meeting?

Dr. McKay: We didn’t have a favorite; we just walked from one to the next to the next. We had a great time.

DG: It’s amazing, right? Each one was better than the last.

Dr. McKay: I agree. It was a terrific community and family affair. The book festival was a true celebration of literacy. What a lovely event!

DG: Thank you. We think we have even more authors this year and we are trying to bring in diversity, different ages and different genres, and it has been exciting to see some of the authors who have reached out to us– Nina Crews, David Ezra Stein.

Dr. McKay: Really?!

DG: Then you get in the position of having to turn people away or giving them half days but it is a good problem to have.

Dr. McKay: You truly have to be excited about that!

DG: Very excited. I would do it two days if we could but logistically it’s impossible.

DG: So I have to ask: What were your beach reads this summer?

Dr. McKay: Of course I am always reading professional books, which I very much enjoy. Right now, David Rock’s Your Brain at Work is very exciting to me. I like neuroscience. I also enjoyed Just Mercy, which is written by Bryan Stevenson–he is the executive director of Equal Justice Initiative in Montgomery, Alabama. It’s a true story of justice and redemption.

Dr. McKay: I also was with many of my grandchildren so I read a lot of children’s books with them.

DG: I really enjoyed talking to you and please be sure to put October 3rd on your calendar for the Chappaqua Children’s Book Festival.

Dr. McKay: I will. It is a celebration I will be sure to attend. Thank you.

Guest Editor Dawn Greenberg is the founder and director of the Chappaqua Children’s Book Festival, founder of Chappaqua Cares, and executive director of the Chappaqua-Millwood Chamber of Commerce. She lives with her husband Paul and son Ben in Chappaqua.

More about our School District Leader
Dr. Lyn McKay is Superintendent of the Chappaqua Central School District. She was Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction and then Deputy Superintendent for Chappaqua Schools for eight years prior. Before that she worked in Pinellas County Florida as a Reading and Language Arts Supervisor and Director of Teaching and Learning, K-12, where she established a writing demonstration school and led research, development, and implementation of curriculum and instruction, K-12. Since coming to New York, Dr. McKay has been the president of the Putnam-Northern Westchester BOCES Curriculum Council, a consultant to neighboring districts on leadership practices, an executive coach, and currently co-facilitates the Tri-State Consortium’s Steering Committee. She has chaired and presented at numerous educational institutes throughout the country. Her publications include Flexible Grouping for Literacy in the Elementary Grades, Teachers on the Cutting Edge, and Extended Wait-time and its Effect on Listening Comprehension.

Dr. McKay received her master’s degree from Teachers College, Columbia University and her Ph.D. from the University of South Florida, where she became an adjunct professor.

New Castle is Our Home

August 5, 2015 by The Inside Press

My husband Jay and I moved to New Castle in 1985, years before we had children. We loved that our neighbors had grown up in New Castle and stayed to raise their children–we thought that spoke volumes about the quality of life here. We think it still does.

There is so much to appreciate here in New Castle: we love the world class education our school system offers with the small town feel where people say hello, the convenience of the train to the city, the bike path and the wonderful parks. There is a great spirit of volunteerism and a sense of community in Town. Even though our two daughters are long out of the house; New Castle is our home and will be for a long time to come.

Jill Shapiro,

Town Administrator

jshapiro@mynewcastle.org

The Town Administrator

is appointed by and responsible to the Town Board and acts as the chief administrative officer for the Town.
The Administrator’s responsibilities are:

-Oversight of all day-to-day operations of the town

-Responsible for implementing policy adopted by the town board and providing advice and assistance as requested