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It's Easy Being Green Newsletter      November 2022
In this issue: Status of NYC birds, 2022 zero waste gift guide, Threats to Building Law 97, Let's be plastic free: wrapping ideas and gifts

Is New York City Bird Friendly? Yes and No
Red-tailed hawk Picture:Karen Fung
 I recently spotted a red tailed hawk perched in a tree near the service road of Riverside Park, and got to thinking about the welfare of birds in our city. To find out how they are doing I connected with Dustin Partridge, PhD (yes, Partridge!), NYC Audubon's Director of Conservation and Science.
How is the climate crisis impacting the status of birds in NYC?
What role does Audubon NYC play in helping our bird population to thrive in the city?

 
NYC Audubon is a conservation organization dedicated to protecting wild birds and their habitat in the five boroughs for the benefit of all New Yorkers. Founded in 1979, we affiliate with the National Audubon Society, but we are an independent nonprofit. We work to protect birds through science-based conservation, advocacy, and engagement. Our conservation science work is at the core of what we do, and it takes place from the beaches of the Rockaways to the rooftops of Manhattan.
 
New York City may seem like an unusual place for bird conservation, but it is a
particularly important one.  More than 300 species of bird are found in the city-resident birds, birds that breed here, and even birds that come in from northern areas to spend a few months in the winter. Each spring and fall our parks, gardens, and skies are filled with millions of birds as they migrate along the Atlantic Flyway, a coastal migration route. Eastern birds travel each year between the Americas.
 
Our work is focused on birds and their habitats, but it is not only about birds. What is good for birds is often good for people and birds are crucial for connecting New Yorkers with an often-absent natural world. The long-distance migratory birds that pass through each year are a seasonal reminder that what happens in the city influences the world far beyond its borders.
 
However, birds are not doing well locally or globally, in part due to climate change. Since 1970, North America has lost nearly 1 in 4 birds; 70 species are at a tipping point – on track to lose half of their already decimated populations in the next 50 years. In New York City, the climate crisis is directly impacting birds. New York Harbor, for example, is one of the largest heron rookeries in the Northeast. Each May, thousands of wading birds (such as herons, egrets, and ibis) nest on the remote undeveloped or abandoned islands that dot the Harbor. This crucial nesting habitat is at risk due to sea-level rise and the increased frequency of high-intensity storms. NYC Audubon has been protecting and monitoring the Harbor's nesting wading birds for 38 years, noting an annual increase in the threats they face due to climate change.
 
 What are the key factors affecting birds in NYC? Is it weather, pollution, drought or something else?
 
The biggest factors affecting birds in NYC are those that should be rather easy to control: glass and artificial light at night. Nearly a quarter million birds are killed annually in the city due to collisions with window glass.
 
Birds do not understand the architectural cues that allow people to perceive glass. Instead, they perceive an open pathway to vegetation or sky reflected in the window or visible on the other side and collide when they try to fly through. They are either killed, injured, or fall stunned to the ground, where they are often eaten by predators, or stepped on or run over by vehicles.
  
An important contributing factor to window collisions is artificial light at night. Most birds in the Northeast migrate at night. Artificial lights disorient and draw them into densely built areas like moths to a flame. Once there, they may collide with windows either at night or the next morning when they’re trapped in an area with little vegetation and large amounts of glass.
 
The species of birds killed in window collisions in NYC may be surprising to some readers. The primary victims are not familiar city birds like Rock Pigeons, House Sparrows, and European Starlings but rather migratory birds briefly passing through in the spring and fall. Deep forest dwelling birds like American Woodcocks, bright yellow warblers like Common Yellowthroats, and even charismatic woodpeckers like Northern Flickers are frequent collision victims in NYC.
 
The situation is dire, but our Project Safe Flight community science volunteers, who find thousands of dead and injured birds throughout the city each year, help us identify high-collision areas and get bird-friendly retrofits in place. For example, the bird-friendly film installed on the glass railing in Liberty Park in the Battery is now preventing hundreds of collisions a year. We also monitor collisions through dBird.org, a tool anyone can use to report dead or injured birds. If you find a dead or injured bird, please enter the info at dBird.org. If the bird is injured, place it in a paper bag without food or water and transport it to our partners at the Wild Bird Fund, a wild bird rehabilitator on the Upper West Side.

Would you describe some habitat conservation projects NYC Audubon has undertaken and what were the outcomes for birds?
 
NYC is an incredible place to be working on bird conservation because the success of our efforts protect bird populations both within the city and all along the East Coast. For example, through our Project Safe Flight research and grassroots advocacy  we were able to get  legislation passed in 2019 that requires all new buildings to have bird-friendly windows up to 75 feet (where nearly all collisions happen).
 
Another important aspect of bird conservation in NYC is that what is good for birds is also good for NYC residents. For example, we study and promote the installation of green infrastructure, such as green roofs. Green roofs provide essential urban habitat during the breeding season and as stopover habitat (space for birds to rest and refuel during migration) in otherwise inhospitable areas. In an industrial part of Greenpoint, Brooklyn, NYC Audubon worked with partners to build a mixed native plant green roof, Kingsland Wildflowers at Broadway Stages. This roof quickly became habitat for birds, bats, and insects, but also benefited local residents by capturing stormwater, improving air quality, and reducing the urban heat island effect in the nearby area.
 
A conservation success story closer to the Upper West Side is the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center. Its network of green roofs– a 6.75 acre sedum roof, a food forest with an apple orchard, and a 1-acre food-producing farm–provide habitat for over 40 bird species, 5 bat species, and thousands of native insects! What makes this conservation case study even more special is that the Javits Center once was one of the biggest bird killers in NYC due to highly reflective glass. Working with NYC Audubon, during its 2013 renovation, the Javits Center replaced all of its reflective glass with a dot-patterned glass that is visible to birds (and also cuts solar radiation, reducing energy use), and then installed the largest green roof network in NYC. It went from a bird killer to a bird sanctuary.

Many of our readers live near Riverside Park or Central Park. How is the bird population faring there? 

Thriving! Both parks provide incredible habitat for birds, with Central Park being one of the best birding locations in the world. Not only does Central Park provide wonderful habitat (visit the Ramble), but also birds concentrate in the park because  the surrounding streets are less hospitable. I highly recommend joining one of NYC Audubon’s bird outings held throughout the year in Riverside Park or Central Park. They are an incredible opportunity to see birds, learn about them, and spend time with a diverse group of nature-loving people.

What are some ways our readers can help Audubon NYC with their efforts?

We need your help! NYC Audubon's research and advocacy to protect birds relies very heavily on data collected by our community science volunteers. Please consider volunteering! Whether it is conducting bird collision surveys through Project Safe Flight, monitoring Horseshoe Crabs spawning in Jamaica Bay (their eggs are an important food source for migrating shorebirds), or joining us for the Christmas Bird Count (December 18th this year), you will make a difference. If you’re unable to volunteer but would like to support our work, please consider donating. Our success is only possible due to the generosity of our donors, all of whom care deeply about the environment, birds, and the people of NYC. To volunteer or donate, or to find our about bird outings and other activities visit us at https://www.nycaudubon.org/


Sharon W. itseasybeinggreen.nyc@gmail.com

          2022 Zero Waste* Gift Guide

Looking for planet friendly gift ideas for the holidays and special occasions? Look no further. Here is our updated guide for gifts that won’t hurt the planet and hopefully will bring a smile to the receiver. *What is zero waste? The simple answer: aim to send nothing to a landfill; reduce what we need; reuse as much as we can; send little to be recycled, and compost what we cannot.

Give gift certificates for experiences instead of things. Be sure certificates are not dispensed as plastic gift cards. See note below. Some Buy Local options include:

  • Sessions for adults and children at SkillMill at 949 Amsterdam Ave. Adults can learn 3D design, how to prototype an idea and more. Kids offerings include STEM classes and camps to learn engineering with paper and cardboard and other hands-on projects.
  • Online baking classes with Silver Moon Bakery owner Judith Norell. Sign up here 
  • Robotics anyone? Gift children and grandchildren sessions at Robofun 
  • Music lessons at Bloomingdale School of Music
  • Dance classes for all ages at Bridge for Dance  

Offer to share your time/skills and expertise. These suggestions involve little or no money and no waste!

  • Help someone declutter and organize a closet
  • Share a skill you have i.e. cooking, knitting, drawing, computer expertise etc.
  • Offer to babysit for a series of parent nights out
  • Know how to fix things, hang pictures, mend? Offer your help!

Make a donation in the honor of someone to a charity of their choice. Some worthy local non-profits include:

Give books to spread knowledge and activism about the climate crisis and a zero waste lifestyle. Consult  The Year You Finally Read About Climate Change  from The New York Times  and this booklist from Green Dreamer on how to follow a zero waste lifestyle.

Gift subscriptions to music services such as Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music or to Audible for access to books and podcasts.

For kids young and older : Look for plastic free toys from companies such as Plan Toys, Green ToysBegin Again Toys. Cultivate older children’s  interest in nature with pairings of binoculars and print guides to birds or trees, gardening tools and native plant seed,  or cameras and sketch pads and pens. 

For fashionistas on your list: Hunt for designer treasures in Michael’s on 85th and Madison, a consignment store with zero waste messages in their windows. Or try Ina on 207 West 18th Street for an eclectic mix. Our local Housing Works on Broadway at 97th is a good source for used goods and clothes too.

Note: Avoid plastic gift cards most of which are made of PVC plastic. According to Judith Enck, President of Beyond Plastics, we should be concerned about polyvinyl chloride plastic, or PVC, because it’s poisonous to produce. Read a fact sheet on it here.

Best wishes from It’s Easy Being Green for a healthy, sustainable and safe holiday!

 

 

Let's Be Plastic Free - Wrapping Ideas and Holiday Gifts
 


                      Natural linen furoshiki. Reusable gift wrapping cloth. image 4Upcycled Sari Fabric Gift Wrap set of 6 Assorted Furoshiki image 5How to Wrap a Gift with Newspaper                                                           gift boxes with ribbon and blank label  Newspaper Stock Photo

 

Eco-Friendly Gift Wrapping

Americans throw away 25% more trash during the holidays, and this extra trash — mostly food, shopping bags, product packaging and wrapping paper — adds up to an additional 1 million tons of waste per week that is sent to U.S. landfills, according to the EPA. 

Annual waste from gift-wrap and shopping bags totals 4 million tons in the U.S., according to the Use Less Stuff Report. Some estimate that up to half of the paper America consumes is used to package or decorate consumer products. So it is important that this paper be recyclable, as well as actually recycled.

Wrapping paper can only be recycled if it is plain (no glitter, foil, or bows attached), not laminated and not too thin. If it is very thin, it doesn't have enough quality fibers for recycling. So instead of cheap wrapping paper, use basic brown kraft paper, which can often be reused before being recycled. (Spruce it up with ribbon**, pinecones, evergreen sprigs or reusable ornaments.) Or repurpose paper in your home like newspaper, old maps, old posters or children's artwork.

Use fabric in the spirit of furoshiki,  an ancient Japanese tradition of wrapping gifts using a single piece of cloth. Furoshiki started out as the cloth in which people carried their clothes, but later it was used to carry or wrap almost anything. Japan has been on the forefront of reducing plastic consumption: “In 2006, Japanese Minister of the Environment Yuriko Koike promoted furoshiki cloth in an effort to increase environmental awareness and reduce the use of plastic.” (Invaluable.com). Today in Japan, furoshiki is still used for carrying objects as well as for gift wrapping.

Furoshiki can be made from a variety of materials including silk, cotton, or even wool, usually in 20-40 inch squares.  Furoshiki fabrics are sold on various websites, such as Etsy, or Amazon. Or you may want to make your own by using any materials you have around your house, such as scarves or other fabrics.  The cloth itself can be part of the gift, which can be used many times again for future gift giving or even repurposed into a head or neck scarf.  To learn the technique, here is a video.  For more tips, check out this blog on Invaluable.

A Few Plastic-free Gift Ideas

●     Refillable foaming hand soap from Blueland

●     Stainless water bottle from takeyausa or others

●     Collapsible tote bags from museum gift shops like the Guggenheim

●     Recycled travel cutlery set from Albatross

●     Trial size shampoo and conditioner bars from Superzero or Hibar, which
        will reduce plastic clutter (and the potential for spillage) in your travel bag
        and bathroom.

●     Tickets to performances (theater, music, dance, movies, comedy, sports)

●     Memberships to museums or venues like Symphony Space

●     Classes or lessons

     
 

**Plastic bows and ribbon are not recyclable. Reuse them for as long as possible!!

Kate W. (itseasybeinggreen.kate@gmail.com)
Karen G.(itseasybeinggreen.karen@gmail.com)

Legislation
 

"Major NYC climate law in jeopardy as 400 people virtually crash buildings meeting"

That was the headline Gothamist ran after an 11/14 meeting the Department of Buildings held on implementation of Local Law 97.  The virtual hearing was flooded with City Council members and activists calling for better rules and fewer loopholes in order to prevent wealthy landlords and real estate firms from skirting the law entirely.

 

LL97, the centerpiece of the city’s 2019 Climate Mobilization Act, aims to reduce greenhouse gases (GHG) from buildings by more than 70% by 2030. Buildings are the largest source of GHG in New York City. However, draft rules proposed by Mayor Adams administration would allow corporate real estate firms to skirt the law by buying unlimited Renewable Energy Credits (REC) instead of actually lowering emissions from their buildings.

Council members who were responsible for the passage of this law as well as Brad Lander, City Comptroller, want the RECs capped at 30% and also want the rules to address GHG generated by maintenance and renovations of buildings. Materials such as concrete, steel and bricks account for about 9% of global carbon. See Lander’s recommendations here.

Stay tuned!


Follow Manhattan Bird Alert on Twitter (@BirdCentralPark) for the latest bird sightings in and arround the city
https://twitter.com/BirdCentralPark

Don't know much about birds? Find out for free from an app called Merlin Bird ID which is part of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. You can try to match a picture you've taken, or record a bird song to identify. 

 

"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can make a difference; indeed, it's the only thing that ever has."
- Margaret Mead
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