Lower East Side Schools Music Festival - Saturday!

On Saturday, May 21st, 12-6pm, we will be hosting our annual BHSEC Neighborhood Festival, which this year is a "Lower East Side Schools Music Festival," celebrating the arts in our schools. Along with BHSEC's Orchestra, Brazilian drummers, our Step Team, dance and other groups, participating schools include the East Village Community School, PS188, PS34, and more, with the generous support and talents of our Third Street Music School teaching artists.

This year the festival will culminate in a "Battle of the Bands" beginning at about 3:30pm, showcasing BHSEC and other high school rock & folk musicians. AND YOU ARE INVITED to help out during the event, (anytime from 11a.m. on) or just come for the festivities - and in the process, support our efforts and represent BHSEC! We are also expecting greetings throughout the day from State Sen. Daniel Squadron, NYC Council Member Rosie Mendez, and Borough President Scott Stringer (please see the information below for more details about the event).

Thank you to you parents, students and faculty/staff who have volunteered to help so, far. If you would like to help out (with decorations, giving out information at tables, translating, giving out refreshments, face-painting the youngest visitors, etc.) please contact Kristi Powell, kpowell at bhsec dot bard dot edu, by Friday, May 20.

MORE ABOUT THE EVENT:
The Neighborhood Festival started out three years ago as a way of inviting our immediate neighbors into our space to learn about who we are, what we do in the building, and our programs - especially the Early College Academy for neighborhood middle-schoolers - and the ways we are connected to the community.

This is a free, fun, low-key event that we hold in the garden (to move indoors if it rains). One of our neighbors, a professional caterer, always donates amazing Spanish food! In addition, LES community-based organizations come and host information tables.

Again, please contact Kristi Powell-Grenfell ( kpowell at bhsec dot bard dot edu ) if you are interested in helping out, donating, or have another organization that would like to have a table at the event.
We hope to see you on Saturday, rain or shine!

Signs of Spring

Right now it's 50 degrees but the temperatures are predicted to dip down to 27 on Thursday and Friday night. I hope these signs of spring can make it through to next week!

Garden Planning Meeting 2/8/2011

It was a week ago yesterday that members of the BHSEC Garden Committee joined BHSEC Special Events Manager Kristi Powell at the school for a meeting to brainstorm about possible future projects and improvements to the Bard Yard. In December a benefactor gave BHSEC a generous donation to be used in the development of a cafe garden a la Alice Waters' Edible Garden project. Waters is the renowned chef and the most visible activist and promoter of organic and locally grown food--especially at schools. We are very excited about this and had a very productive meeting.

The garden committee was joined by architect Andrew E. Burdick of Ennead Architects who has volunteered to work with us.

He came prepared with several versions of plans and quickly sketched out new possibilities after listening everyone's ideas and noting the elements that should be included in the plan (basketball courts and space for outdoor performances or the high school graduation after-party, for example)

Here's the gist of what we discussed at the meeting (from Sonia's notes):

• a permanent and largely underground water solution
• incorporating vegetables into the garden especially those which thrive in spring and the fall to coincide with students' attendance
• the location of, design, and construction materials for the "farm"
• the design of the entire space to incorporate the "farm," the common meeting/events area, the buffer area, and the basketball court
  
• how to get the faculty and students (and community in the future ) more involved. Examples: holding classes in the garden, doing botany or science projects, Eco club, recycling, events, art installations, and arranging garden elements to encourage "hanging out"
  
• long and short term goals
• future sources of aid, funds or grants and partnerships with other local groups to combine grants
  
• the possibility of getting help, especially in the summer when students are gone, from partners and local community groups
• how to make the garden more appealing--the aesthetics, design, noise and wind buffers, seating areas, and using the new kind of astroturf

The progress we've made in the garden since the committee got going in 2009 is amazing. Being in the city we may never have the amount of green area that Bard College in Annandale-on-Hudson does, but our yard is going to continue to improve and be a great place to think.

Watering by Snowmelt

I was thinking about Bard Yard this weekend as temperatures in the 40s melted a good portion of the 20 inches we got in last week's snowstorm. I imagined that the runoff produced by the melting snow was doing our trees some good. When I stopped by on Monday afternoon the weather was freezing again, but as you can see from the pictures there is still a good supply of snow waiting to melt into another watering session.

Bulb Planting 2011!

Students and parents planted bulbs in the Bard Yard the first week of November. This year we're adding hyacinths to the daffodils and tulips. Thanks to the students (who will go nameless here, but we know who you are!) and to Rebecca, Tim, Kristi, Sonia and Helen.

"Teaching Moment" (Sonia explaining annuals vs perennials, and wintering over)

Rebecca created a very neat moat here. I'm sure it's good for the roots and she was able to see clearly where last year's bulbs were so she could place the new ones in different spots.

Student planting bulbs. Hopefully they will be in bloom for graduation in June.

Some nice fall color

Gardening students' helping hands

More student gardeners planting bulbs

Inventory of Tables and Benches in Bard Yard

TABLES

2 wooden picnic tables
3 blue umbrellas tables

BENCHES
3 heavy green benches
12 long wooden benches
2 small wood benches
2 bolted blue benches

TREES

7 Honeylocust
14 Zelkova S. Green Vase
5 Tilia Cordata Greenspire

Tree Layouts

We now have a diagram of the final tree layouts after they were installed. You can see where the different types of trees are planted by the different colored dotted lines.



And here is the latest update to the sprinkler system schematic (as of September 2010). Mentally rotate the image 90 degrees to the right if you are trying to compare it to the tree layouts.



The system has now been winterized (hoses disconnected and drained, timers removed) and so it has been shut-off until the spring. Here is the schedule that it will go back to once it is turned on again.