Our Projects
Transition Town Port Washington promotes projects and initiatives that transition us away from fossil fuel dependence and toward a more self-reliant, regenerative and sustainable community.
Our projects and advocacy work focus on the following action areas:
Energy Efficiency/Renewable Energy
Transportation & Development
“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it's the only thing that ever has.” —Margaret Mead
Plants, Trees, Water & Soil
Adopt a Trail
In October 2021, TTPW launched “Adopt a Trail”; a joint project with the Science Museum of Long Island. In the first 2 weeks of the program 15 people volunteered to help maintain the Museum’s trails and grounds, including removal of invasive species. In addition a team of 4 “ Navigators” and a staff member from the Nicholas Center also maintain a trail. The Nicholas Center’s mission is to include Autistic individuals in all facets of community life.
The Adopt a Trail program has been structured to accommodate people’s schedules and encourage participation. The volunteers can come anytime during daylight hours and can do as much or as little as they want to do. Many of the volunteers bring their children, relatives and friends to help. Basic instruction on trail Maintenance and hand tools is provided.
During the winter months there is less trail maintenance to do, but the “Trailblazers” come to enjoy the beauty of the Science Museum’s 36 acres, and the magnificent views over Manhasset Bay. There are still several trail sections that need to be adopted. So if you are interested email Paul.merkelson@gmail.com and Paul will help you find your trail.
Responsible and Regenerative Land Management
This year, TTPW volunteers will help with ecosystem restoration at the Science Museum of Long Island.
An exciting new project on the grounds of SMLI includes restoring the American Chestnut population. We will establish a mother orchard of American Chestnuts as part of a large scale ecosystem restoration project where we will plant natives and remove invasive plants in collaboration with Frank Piccinini and colleagues at Spadefoot Design and Construction. We will also plant natives like willows and maple trees at Leeds Pond.
Environmental Education
In partnership with Landmark on Main Street and the Port Washington Public Library (PWPL), Transition Town Port Washington offers creative programming aimed at broadening community understanding and engagement in environmental and climate crisis issues.
Port Washington Peninsula’s Land and Water
TTPW has partnered with the Port Washington Public Library to offer educational presentations on the particular challenges facing our residents, wildlife, and natural ecosystems on the Port Washington Peninsula. These lectures, presented by local experts, highlight descriptions of the remarkable biodiversity we can enjoy in our coastal community, and how we can work to preserve and restore them. They also help residents plan for the hardships threatening our peninsula as the climate crisis unfolds.
Click on the icon below to watch the video of each presentation to learn more about how to prepare our commmunty as well as protect and restore our precious wild spaces.
TTPW Climate Action Series
The Conversations from Main Street Climate Action Series is co-presented with Landmark on Main Street with the goal of introducing community-centered climate solutions while also promoting individual action. Small changes to our daily routines can have lasting and impact on our environment and future.
Click on the icon below to watch the video of each event and get started making a difference in our community.
Earth Day Film Festival 2020
On February 28, 2020, TTPW launched the Earth Day Film Festival at the Port Washington Public Library with a screening of Paris to Pittsburg followed by a community discussion about how we can all act locally to combat climate change and move towards a renewable energy future.
The second film in the series, Just Eat It featured the 6-month saga of filmmakers, Jen and Grant who pledged to quit grocery shopping and live on discarded food. They dug into the issue of food waste from the farm and retail, right to the back of their own fridge. This is an engaging film on a serious and timely topic. It is estimated that 40% of the food grown in the US gets wasted, yet 37 million households are food insecure.
Pollution, Waste & Recycling
Transition Town Port Washington is committed to encouraging our neighbors, friends and elected officials to implement best practices and legislation for reducing waste and plastic consumption, cleaning up plastic pollution and recycling more efficiently. We promote community composting, local recycling projects, as well as youth education and activism. We have also joined the Break Free From Plastic movement, a global effort envisioning a future free from plastic pollution.
TTPW Community Composting at the Science Museum of Long Island
In October 2020, starting with ten founding families, TTPW launched a Community Compost demonstration facility at the Science Museum of Long Island. Now there are over twenty families who drop off their food scraps on Saturday mornings and help with the composting operation. To date we have saved over 8900 pounds of food from landfills or incinerators and returned it to the earth. We’re looking for “Earthmakers” to start other Community Composting “hub” locations at schools, synagogues, churches or parks, around town. Please complete the volunteer form and let us know you want to join the TTPW Community Composting Work Group!
Composting food scraps, whether at home or in a community facility, is a great way for your family to live a more sustainable lifestyle. It is estimated that upwards of 30% of food production gets incinerated into the air or ends up rotting in fields, storage, dumpsters or landfills where it converts into methane, a greenhouse gas which can trap up to 85% more heat than CO2.
Instead, composting turns kitchen scraps into nutritious soil for plants, insects and birds. There is no reason NOT to compost!
If you would like to learn how to integrate Composting into your household routine, please Contact Us. We will share different back yard methods including Bokashi which breaks down food scraps anaerobically. Composting does a whole lot of good and it’s easy to do!
TTPW “Beyond Plastics” Youth Brigade
On March 6th, as part of the 2021 Port Washington Youth Climate Summit, hosted by Residents Forward, Dr. Hildur Palsdottir, led a workshop entitled Beyond Plastics. The students learned about the Beyond Plastics Movement, whose mission is to end plastic pollution by being a catalyst for change at every level of society. Many of these students have joined the Transition Town Port Washington “Break Free From Plastic” initiative and are generating and executing their own ideas on reducing plastic consumption and waste in their school and our community.
