By Erin Dodds, Chairman of the Green Committee

Apple Picking

It’s apple picking season! PIFS Green Committee member, Betsy Wells, has thoughtfully pulled together the information below to help you find the best spot for your family. Please be sure to call each orchard ahead of time or check the orchard websites for updated information on what is available.

Fishkill Farms – An Eco-Farm in the Hudson Valley

For those healthy, little bodies, Fishkill Farms is a great spot to visit because it’s an eco-friendly farm – and it’s not easy to find apples that aren’t treated with heavy pesticides.

Fishkill Farms is a working ecological farm in Hopewell Junction, NY, about an hour away from Greenwich. They have pick-your-own fruit all summer long and into the fall. Summer brings berries and vegetables and end-of-season peaches. Apples are ready all fall, from Macintosh in September to Macoun in October. Other varietals at Fishkill include Gala, Fuji, Red Delicious, Golden Delicious, Jonagold, Jonamac, Cortland, Empire, and Organic Ida red. They have five acres of organic apples, the rest of the orchard uses Integrated Pest Management (read: spraying a preferably eco-friendly pesticide when necessary and using other natural ways to manage pests and disease). According to their website, apples are notoriously difficult to grow organically. It is possible, if you don’t mind fruit without a perfect appearance!

9 Fishkill Farm Road
Hopewell Junction, NY 12533
(845) 897-4377
Open 7 days, 9 a.m. – 6 p.m.

Drive your car right to the orchards.
$5 per person picking charge (Tuesdays are free) in addition to buying your fruit. (Cost offsets the increased price of organic farming.) Kids under 12 are free. Apple bags come in three sizes, price varies. Apple cider donuts (yes, please!), pies, cheese and other goodies are available at the farm store. Portable potties are near parking in the fields. Weekends bring hayrides, an outdoor grill, beverages, including homemade cider, and Hudson Valley ice cream. Credit cards accepted. Check their Facebook page for the latest updates.

Harvest Moon Farm & Orchard –  A family farm right in Westchester County

Harvest Moon is a family farm in North Salem, NY. They have an apple orchard with a farm store where they sell their own hormone-free, organic turkey, chicken, pork and grass-fed beef. They also have cider, farm eggs, local honey, dairy cheese, and maple syrup and…wait for it…apple cider donuts! Their website notes that most of their trees are currently picked clean but they do have plenty of varietals (McIntosh, Macoun, Empire, Cortland, Gala, Fuji, Bartlett Pears, and Honeycrisp) in bins throughout the orchard and at the farm store. Again, their practice is to use IPM and the most environmentally-friendly pesticides available.

130 Hardscrabble Road
North Salem, NY 10560
(914) 485-1210
Open 7 days a week, 8 a.m. – 6 p.m. April through Christmas
Apple picking hours 9 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.

$30 bag (25 pounds) per 5 people. Additional people in the group: $5 each. Weekend fall festival (with hayrides, pony rides, bouncy castle, face painting, pizza and BBQ). No dogs allowed, unfortunately!

Outhouse Orchards –  A nearby farm with a huge corn maze and famous cheesecake

Across the street is the perennial family-owned and operated Outhouse Orchards. They have hayrides, a giant corn maze and pick-your-own apples and pumpkins in the fall. Apples that are currently ripe include Rome, Baldwin and Red Delicious. They’re known for their delicious pumpkin cheesecake.

139 Hardscrabble Road
North Salem, NY 10560
(914) 277-3188
9 a.m. – 5 p.m.

$5 parking on weekends. Pre-pay $25 for one apple bag.

Silverman’s Country Market and Animal Farm – A Connecticut treasure founded in  1920

In Easton, Connecticut, straddled across Sport Hill Road (Route 59), you’ll find Silverman’s. A country market and orchard on one side and an animal farm (with petting and feeding) on the other, Silverman’s offer endless photo opportunities (think PIFS’s pumpkin patch on steroids) and fun for the kids. Stop by before or after school one day during the week as weekend apple picking has ended. However, that shouldn’t stop you from visiting the market (apples are available, as well as pies, cider donuts (!), baked goods, local honey, and srup) and animals (buffalo, llamas, alpacas, sheep, goats, deer, emus, cattle and birds) on the weekends! They also continue fall foliage hayrides on the weekends through the end of the month. Bands (banjos!) and freshly made kettle corn round out the fun.

451 Sport Hill Road
Easton, CT
(203) 261-3306
Open 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. April through December

Hand-washing stations are available for post-animal feeding, as are port-a-potties. To visit the animals: $6 for adults, $3 for childen ages 1-11. Hayrides: $5, under 2 years old: free! 

What We Are Cooking

This yummy recipe is a favorite of Reeve in the Connecting Class. Thank you for sharing, Reeve! If your child is allergic to milk, substitute coconut milk yogurt or another alternative yogurt that’s safe for him/her.

Blender Banana Oatmeal Muffins

With no flour, no butter and no oil, these banana oatmeal muffins with chocolate chips are made in the blender and are moist, healthy, and delicious!

Yield: 12 muffins
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 40 minutes

Ingredients:

• 2 cups oats (quick cooking or old fashioned)
• 2 large very ripe bananas
• 2 large eggs
• 1 cup plain Greek yogurt
• 2 to 3 tablespoons honey*
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder (I prefer aluminum free)
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1/8 teaspoon kosher salt
• Up to 1/2 cup mix-ins: chocolate chips (mini or regular), chopped dark chocolate, nuts, dried cranberries, or blueberries (fresh or frozen and rinsed)

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Lightly grease a 12-cup standard muffin tinor line with paper liners. If using liners, lightly grease them as well. Set aside.
2. Place the all ingredients but the mix-ins in a blender or the bowl of a food processor fitted with the steel blade: oats, bananas, eggs, Greek yogurt, honey, baking powder, baking soda, vanilla extract, and salt. Blend or process on high, stopping to scrape down and stir the ingredients once or twice as needed, until the batter is smooth and the oats have broken down almost completely, about 3 minutes. By hand, stir in the mix-ins. If the batter is warm from the appliance’s motor, the chocolate chips may melt and swirl as they are stirred. If this bothers you, let the batter cool for 10 minutes before adding them.
3. Divide the batter among the prepared muffin cups, filling each no more than three-quarters of the way to the top. Sprinkle with additional chocolate chips or nuts as desired. Bake for 15 minutes, until the tops of the muffins are set and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Place the pan on a wire rack and let the muffins cool in the pan for 10 minutes. They will deflate but still taste delicious. Remove from the pan and enjoy!

• *Feel free to adjust the honey to your preferred sweetness. Two tablespoons was enough for me with the chocolate, but if you prefer a sweeter muffin, add more.
• Store leftover muffins according to my guide, How to Store Muffins, or wrap tightly in plastic and freeze for up to 2 months.

What We Are Watching

This is a fabulous show, featuring extraordinary chef Dan Barber of Blue Hill and Blue Hill at Stone Barns. Check out the trailer and enjoy the whole show on Netflix!

Quick Tip

I love saving special paintings and drawings in a special memory folder for my daughter, but when you keep an easel up all the time, the everyday paint experiments can get overwhelming. If you want to encourage your child’s creativity but are concerned about the environment, consider “recycling” the everyday paintings by using them as wrapping paper! My daughter loves giving gifts that are wrapped in her special paper.

Special thanks to Dr. Erik Cohen and Dr. Vidya Anegundi from Next Generation Pediatrics and to Hala Si-Ahmed of AaHa Restart Cleanse for meeting with parents at PIFS on Wednesday to discuss nutrition. If you missed the program, please take a look at the family friendly recipes!

Also, please stop by Mike’s Organic Warehouse MRKT on Thursday, April 26, 9:00 a.m.-Noon and pick up fresh, organic produce, grass-fed meats and dairy, plus other local goodies. Mike is donating 10% of sales during that time back to PIFS! Support our school and stock up on healthy groceries at the same time.”

MRKT
425 Fairfield Avenue
Building 1 (in the back)
Stamford, off of exit 6

FAMILY FRIENDLY MEAL IDEAS AND RECIPES

BREAKFAST IDEAS

• Oatmeal with fresh berries, bananas, apples or nuts seasoned with cinnamon, honey or maple syrup
• Yogurt parfait: plain yogurt mixed with fresh fruit or fruit preserves and granola
• Eggs: scrambled, hard-boiled, omelette, etc.
• Hearty smoothies
• Homemade granola

LUNCH IDEAS

• Tomato soup with melted cheese sandwich on whole wheat bread
• Hummus sandwich in pita bread
• Peanut butter with jelly sandwich on whole wheat
• Chicken noodle soup with veggies
• Turkey avocado sandwich

SNACK IDEAS

• Cut veggies (carrots, cucumbers, etc) with hummus or dressing for dipping
• Cut fruit (apples, bananas, etc) with peanut or almond butter
• Homemade smoothie with greek yogurt and fresh fruit
• Rice cakes with cheese or hummus or guacamole
• Dried fruit/raisins and/or nuts

FAMILY FRIENDLY MEALS – Click for AaHa Family Recipes

• Lebanese “stuffing”: Spiced rice with ground meat
• Whole roasted chicken with roasted potatoes and asparagus
• Quick turkey bolognese with spaghetti or zoodles
• Chicken vegetable soup with quinoa or pasta
• “Popeyes”: Spinach and ground chicken
• Roasted salmon with rice and broccoli
• Basic filet mignon with oven sweet potato fries

By the Green Committee

As the sunny, warm summer weather continues well into autumn, the PIFS Green Committee shares with you a roundup of local apple-picking sites. This weekend promises temperatures in the 70s again, so it’s an opportunity to enjoy some of these last moments outdoors before we’re hit with La Niña!

Fruit picking is hard, rewarding work—but all the delicious berries and handheld apples and pears don’t just appear on your table without some effort. The experience of harvesting is one our kids will remember. Encourage them to feel the sun beating down, sweat dripping, arms aching—just as a fruit picker would in the field. There are still apples to be picked, just call before you head out to check hours and availability.

Please let us know your favorite spots – we’re always excited to learn and share. Many of the apple orchards are very busy on the weekends. They have a lot to offer, so plan to arrive early if you can! Remember the Green Committee is open to any and all. Contact Erin Dodds at pifsgreen@gmail.com to receive emails.

Fishkill Farms – An eco-farm in the Hudson Valley

Fishkill Farms is a working eco-friendly farm in Hopewell Junction, NY, about an hour away from Greenwich. They have pick-your-own fruit all summer long and into the fall. Summer brings berries and vegetables and end-of-season peaches. Apples are ready all fall, from Macintosh in September to Macoun in October. Other varietals at Fishkill include Gala, Fuji, Red Delicious, Golden Delicious, Jonagold, Jonamac, Cortland, Empire, and Organic Idared.

Fishkill farms has five acres of organic apples, the rest of the orchard uses Integrated Pest Management (read: spraying a preferably environmentally-friendly pesticide when necessary and using other natural ways to manage pests and disease). According to their website, apples are notoriously difficult to grow organically. It is possible, if you don’t mind fruit without a perfect appearance!

Fishkill Farms
9 Fishkill Farm Road
Hopewell Junction, NY 12533
(845) 897-4377
Open 7 days
9 a.m. – 6 p.m.

Drive your car right to the orchards. $5 per person picking charge (Tuesdays are free) in addition to buying your fruit. (Cost offsets the increased price of organic farming.) Kids under 12 are free. Apple bags come in three sizes, price varies.

Apple cider donuts (yes, please!), pies, cheese and other goodies are available at the farm store. Portable potties are near parking in the fields. Weekends bring hayrides, an outdoor grill, beverages, including homemade cider, and Hudson Valley ice cream. Credit cards accepted. Check their Facebook page for the latest updates.

Harvest Moon Farm & Orchard – A family farm right in Westchester County

Harvest Moon is a family farm in North Salem, NY. They have an apple orchard with a farm store where they sell their own hormone-free organic turkey, chicken, pork, and grass-fed beef. They also have cider, farm eggs, local honey, dairy cheese, and maple syrup and…wait for it…apple cider donuts! Their website notes that most of their trees are currently picked clean but they do have plenty of varietals (McIntosh, Macoun, Empire, Cortland, Gala, Fuji, Bartlett Pears, and Honeycrisp) in bins throughout the orchard and at the farm store. Again, their practice is to use IPM and the most environmentally-friendly pesticides available.

Harvest Moon Farm & Orchard
130 Hardscrabble Road
North Salem, NY 10560
(914) 485-1210
Open 7 days
8 a.m. – 6 p.m. from April through Christmas
Apple picking hours 9 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.

$30 bag (25 pounds) per 5 people
Additional people in the group: $5 each

Weekend fall festival (with hayrides, pony rides, bouncy castle, face painting, pizza and BBQ) continues through October 29. No dogs allowed, unfortunately!

Outhouse Orchards – A nearby farm with a huge corn maze and famous cheesecake

Across the street is the popular family-owned and operated Outhouse Orchards. They have hayrides, a giant corn maze and pick-your-own apples and pumpkins in the fall. Apples that are currently ripe include Rome, Baldwin, and Red Delicious. They’re known for their delicious pumpkin cheesecake.

Outhouse Orchards
139 Hardscrabble Road
North Salem, NY 10560
(914) 277-3188
9 a.m. – 5 p.m.

$5 parking on weekends
Pre-pay $25 for one apple bag

Silverman’s Country Market and Animal Farm – A Connecticut treasure founded in 1920

In Easton, CT, straddled across Sport Hill Road (Route 59), you’ll find Silverman’s. A country market and orchard on one side and an animal farm (with petting and feeding) on the other, Silverman’s offer endless photo opportunities (think PIFS’s pumpkin patch on steroids) and fun for the kids. Stop by before or after school one day during the week as weekend apple picking has ended. However, that shouldn’t stop you from visiting the market (apples are available, as well as pies, cider donuts (!), baked goods, local honey, and syrup) and animals (buffalo, llamas, alpacas, sheep, goats, deer, emus, cattle and birds) on the weekends. They also continue fall foliage hayrides on Saturdays and Sundays through the end of the month. Bands (banjos!) and freshly made kettle corn round out the fun.

Silverman’s Farm
451 Sport Hill Road
Easton, CT
(203) 261-3306
Open 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. April through December

Hand-washing stations are available for post-animal feeding, as are port-a-potties. To visit the animals: $6 for adults, $3 for children ages 1-11. Hayrides: $5, free for those under 2 years old

On September 29, the PIFS Green Committee hosted our favorite kind of back-to-school shopping…. A private market day at Mike’s Organic Warehouse! For those of you who are new to Greenwich, Mike Geller is a great resource and is well known around town for Mike’s Organic Delivery service: https://mikesorganicdelivery.com/

Mike offers seasonal packages and also a la carte delivery options.  It is like Fresh Direct but you are buying from local farms and getting the freshest, most amazing produce, meats, eggs, dairy, breads and even prepared foods. The best part is that Mike is donating 10% of all proceeds from our market day to PIFS!

What We Are Cooking

What are you going to do with all the wonderful things you bought at Mike’s Warehouse (or from his website)? I asked former PIFS moms, Hala Si-Ahmed and Alexa Fishback to share a great recipe that incorporates some delicious, seasonal items.  I met Hala and Alexa 7 years ago when our youngest children started PIFS together.  They have been key in helping me clean up my eating habits because I regularly participate in cleanses through their company, AaHa Restart: http://www.aaharestart.com/.

Salmon and Quinoa Super Bowl

Ingredients:

• 1 wild caught salmon filet
• Drizzle of olive oil
• ½ tsp salt & pepper
• ½ cup quinoa
• ¼ cup shelled edamame beans (thawed frozen beans can also be used)
• 1/2 cup halved cherry tomatoes
• ½ cup arugula leaves
• 1 Tbsp chopped scallions
• Tbsp olive oil
• Juice of 1 lemon
• Additional ½ tsp salt & pepper

Method:

• Preheat oven to 375
• Arrange salmon on baking tray and season with salt/pepper and drizzle with olive oil
• Bake fish for 12-16 minutes, depending on how well cooked you prefer your salmon
• While fish cooks, cook quinoa as per package directions
• When quinoa is cooked, arrange in large bowl
• Top quinoa with edammame, tomatoes, arugula, and scallions
• Whisk together lemon oil and s/p
• Cut salmon into about 2 inch pieces
• Top quinoa with salmon and drizzle the dressing over the entire bowl

What’s Happening

Join the Greenwich Conservation Commission on October 18 at The Garden Education Center to learn all about the importance of healthy lawns.

Healthy Yards Workshop

Garden Education Center, 130 Bible St., Cos Cob
October 18, 2017 | 8:30 am – 3:30 pm
Registration Fee: $20 includes a Healthy Lunch

Keeping your yard both beautiful and healthy is not as hard as you think. Workshop speakers and exhibitors will give you the tools needed to transition your yard from water and chemical dependent one, to a safe and healthy one without sacrificing aesthetics.

Designed for property owners and their landscape contractors, topics will include:
• Importance of Soil Health
• Composting
• Nutrient Management Controlling Weeds & Pests without Chemicals
• Water-wise Landscaping

*Each Greenwich resident attending will receive a free compost bin, including private instruction on setup. *Limited to one per property

Diane’s Simple Tip

Diane Gordon is not only a dedicated member of the Green Committee, but she is also a PIFS Pre-K teacher. Diane has the best tips for little things you can fit into your busy schedule that take very little time but yield great reward.  Here is Diane’s latest tip:

“Take pleasure in your garden all year long by pressing favorite flowers.”

Upcoming Green Committee Meeting

Please join us for the next meeting of the Green Committee on Tuesday, October 10 at 8:45 a.m. in the upstairs conference room.

 By Erin Dodds, Chairman of the Green Committee

The PIFS Green Committee welcomed Mike Geller from Mike’s Organic Delivery on June 8th to speak with the PIFS campers about farming. Local farmers are an integral part of our community’s food supply and the children enjoyed seeing Mike’s photos of seeds being planted, pasture raised goats, and large tractors!

While the discussion of local, organic farming versus large, commercial operations is a bit advanced for our pre-schoolers, the children understood Mike’s message and his inspiration for starting his business: Food that is grown nearby and eaten soon after being harvested tastes much better than food that has been picked early, shipped across the country on a large truck, then placed on a grocery shelf for two or three days.

Our students have already experienced this on campus with their own gardens. The juicy cherry tomatoes and crisp peas don’t last long around here! Children who supposedly “never” eat vegetables are often our most frequent snackers in the school gardens. Our June campers had a real farm-to-table experience last week when the PIFS cafeteria featured their own salad on the lunch menu! The tiny lettuce seeds they so carefully planted grew to be crisp, crunchy leaves on their plates. Yum!

If you haven’t heard of Mike’s Organic Delivery yet, it is a wonderful resource for fresh produce, pasture raised meats, wild caught fish, local dairy products, eggs and more! As a special offer to PIFS families and faculty, Mike is offering a $100 discount on any summer delivery package. The code is PIFS100. Go to www.mikesorganicdelivery.com and scroll down to the Summer Season Sign Up icon. If setting up a regular delivery is too much for you this year, you can also order items a la carte from his website.

What We Are Reading

Farmers Market season is here… hooray! I love this article from Modern Farmer about the benefits of buying directly from a farmer:

Another Reason to Buy Directly From Farmers: You Could Help the Local Economy More

In case you are new to Greenwich, or just new to the idea of farmers markets, here are two local favorites:

Greenwich Farmers Market

Saturdays 9:30 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.
May 14 through Thanksgiving
At the corner of Horseneck Lane and Arch Street

Old Greenwich Farmers Market

Wednesdays 2:30 – 6:00 p.m.
May 31 through the end of October
Wednesdays 2:00 – 5:00 p.m. in November
The market is held in the parking lot of the Presbyterian Church of Old Greenwich, 38 West End Avenue, Old Greenwich.

What We Are Cooking

When Mike Geller visited PIFS, he brought a selection of beautiful produce, including some delicious beets. Here is a simple recipe from Mike that is easy and kid friendly:

Roasted Beet Chips

Ingredients:

• 1 bunch beets
• Olive oil
• Salt
• Pepper

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 350
• Cut tops and tails off beets
• Wash and scrub beets of any dirt
• Lay beets on their side and cut into “chips” approximately ¼-inch thick
• Place beet chips in large bowl, drizzle with olive oil and toss
  until fully coated
• Arrange on baking sheet, dust with salt and pepper
• Bake for 6 minutes, flip chips and bake for another 6-10 minutes or
  until for tender and lightly browned
• Serve hot as a side, cold over a salad or as a snack

What’s Happening

Family Pond Exploration at Greenwich Audubon
June 17
10:00 – 11:30 a.m.
All ages welcome

Experience the Sound: From Streams Through Soil to Sea at Greenwich Point Park
June 25
1:00 – 4:00 p.m.
Please note: No sticker or beach pass required for this event. Inform the guard you are there for Experience the Sound.

By Erin Dodds, Chairman of the Green Committee

The Town of Greenwich is gearing up for Earth Day in a big way! Please take a look at the calendar below and find some ways you and your PIFS student can participate. The Nature Sprouts class on Wednesdays at The Greenwich Audubon seems like a fun way to spend an afternoon. I also love the many options on Earth Day…or should we call it Earth Weekend this year? April 22 and 23 will feature paper shredding, greenhouse and community garden visits, a bee workshop, a light bulb swap, a museum concert and more! The first item on our list is a big one, though. We are so close to achieving a full reservoir of water again, but it will take the commitment of residents and a few more inches of rain to reach 100% capacity. Please consider taking the water challenge below!

April 1-30 » Take the Wyland National Mayor’s Challenge for Water Conservation.

Join First Selectman Peter Tesei and the Town’s Conservation Commission in taking the pledge to support water conservation and show that Greenwich residents care about our local water supply. My Water Pledge is a friendly competition between cities across the US to see who can be the most “water-wise.” Chief elected officials nationwide will challenge their residents to conserve water, energy and other natural resources on behalf of their city through a series of informative, easy-to-use pledges online. Towns and cities with the highest percentage of residents who take the challenge in their population category win. Go to www.mywaterpledge.com and show that Greenwich really cares about water!

Friday, April 14

2:30-2:45 p.m. » Marine Tank Animal Feeding at Bruce Museum

Free with Museum admission. No reservations.
brucemuseum.org

Saturday, April 15

9:30-Noon » Birding Class: Birding by Ear at Audubon Greenwich

Join Ted Gilman as he shares some of the tricks and techniques used for identifying birds by their calls and songs. After a short indoor introduction to bird vocalizations and a discussion of why and how they vocalize, head outside for a walk to practice your newly acquired birding-by-ear skills. Adults & Interested Youth Ages 8 & Up
613 Riversville Road, Greenwich, CT
$12 members, $15 non-members, youth are free
RSVP required to Ted at 203-930-1353 or tgilman@audubon.org

Tuesday, April 18

2:30-2:45 p.m. » Marine Tank Animal Feeding at Bruce Museum

Free with Museum admission. No reservations. brucemuseum.org, info@brucemuseum.org

6:30-8:00 p.m. » Science Lecture at Bruce Museum: Getting Blood from a Stone: Animation, X-rays, and Dinosaur Tracks

Dr. Stephen Gatesby, Professor of Biology and Medical Science, Brown University
$15 non-members
Open galleries and refreshments at 6:30 pm, Lecture at 7:00 p.m. brucemuseum.org
Reservations: 203-413-6757 or science@brucemuseum.org

Wednesday, April 19

3:30-4:30 p.m. » Nature Sprouts: Mommy & Me at Audubon Greenwich

Audubon Greenwich welcomes little ones and their grown-ups to discover, explore and investigate nature through a different theme each week. Activities include animal experiences, dramatic play, stories, and more! Following the program, adults gather for an Audubon Naturalist led discussion of conservation actions they can take as a family.
Ages 18-36 Months
613 Riversville Road, Greenwich, CT
$250 for 9-class Spring Session or $30/Class for Drop-in
For more information & pre-registration, contact Eli at 203-930-1349 or eschaffer@audubon.org.

Friday, April 21

2:30-2:45 p.m. » Marine Tank Animal Feeding at Bruce Museum

Free with Museum admission.
No reservations.
brucemuseum.org, info@brucemuseum.org

3:45 p.m. » Earth Day Eve Celebration at Cos Cob Library

Fun activities, crafts, food and drink, and live entertainment.
For more information call: 203-622-6883 or visit: http://www.greenwichlibrary.org/cos-cob/.

Saturday, April 22

9:00 a.m.-Noon » Breakfast at Abilis on Earth Day

Come celebrate Earth Day with your neighbors and get to know the amazing work of Abilis’ clients at their Greenhouse and Gift Shop. Light breakfast will be served. For information, visit Abilis Greenhouse & Gift Shop — 50 Glenville St, Greenwich, CT 06831

9:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. » Paper Shredding Event at Island Beach ferry parking lot

Hosted by Greenwich Recycling Advisory Board and Greenwich Green & Clean for Greenwich residents only.
$2 per box, 6 box maximum. Box size guideline: 12” x 18” x 12”. No bags. Shred ONLY sensitive documents such as financial statements, tax documents, medical and social security records at a one-day paper shredding event. DO NOT include file folders, envelopes, magazines, cardboard, newspapers, metal and plastic clips, plastic bindings and covers. (Staples are ok.) Paper shredded on-site and properly recycled to save trees For information, email GreenwichRecycles@gmail.com or call 203-629-2876.

10:00 a.m.-12:30 p.m. » Celebrate Earth Day with a day of action at Greenwich Land Trust!

Volunteers of all ages are welcome to come and learn about the environmental health of our community, and what they can do to make a positive impact. We will be planting trees and flowers, seed starting, hosting demonstrations and experiencing a wildlife release. Lunch will be provided by Whole Foods Market. Please RSVP to sophie@gltrust.org. For more information, visit the website.

10:00 a.m.-2:00 p.m. » Greenwich’s Earth Day and Light Bulb Swap

Presented by Eversource and Conservation Commission at The Greenwich Teen Center
This program will feature light bulb exchange, sign-up for home energy evaluation (experts discussing how to save money on energy) and information on sustainable land maintenance through recycling and reusing of organic wastes (composting, leaf mulching mowing and organic soil enhancement) and more. To help reduce the amount of energy use, each participant is able to exchange up to five incandescent light bulbs, in any working order, for an equal number of long-lasting, energy saving LED light bulbs, at no cost. For more information call: (203) 622 6461, email: amoch@greenwichct.org, or visit the website here.

10:00 a.m.- 3:00 p.m. » Opening Day at Armstrong Court Community Garden

Greenwich Community Gardens is calling all interested volunteers to come celebrate spring with and help get the garden area ready for the growing season. We will also need help installing 13 rain barrels, moving a few a garden beds and filling garden beds with soil. Bring your work gloves and a bag lunch. Tools, snacks, desserts and water provided. Families and community teams welcome! A great way to participate in Earth Day. Armstrong Court Housing Complex off of Hamilton Avenue in western Greenwich. Park in the lot in front of the buildings, walk through the complex to the garden in the back of the property. Signs will be posted.
Rain date: Sunday, April 23 from1:00p.m. to 5:00 p.m.
For more information, visit: www.greenwichcommunitygardens.org or contact the ACCG Garden Director, Ann Shifman-Deibler at als9343@aol.com to RSVP.

1:00-3:00 p.m. » Sweet Bee Friendly Workshop at Garden Education Center

Beekeeping hints on growing a happy healthy hive and honey tasting.
130 Bible Street, Cos Cob
Cost: $10 Adults $5 children 6-12
Registration required by April 15.
For more information visit: www.gecgreenwich.org; email gec@gecgreenwich.org or call 203-869-9242.

2 p.m. » Climate Change Lecture at Byram Shubert Library

Join us for a lecture on Climate Change and Solutions For more information call: 203-531-0426 or visit: http://www.greenwichlibrary.org/byram-shubert/

Sunday, April 23

1:00-4:00 p.m. » Earth Day Family Day at Bruce Museum

Fun family activities, a special musical performance of Sounds of the Earth featuring traditional music from world cultures as it relates to the earth, nature and the environment by Journeys with Sound at 2:00 pm, a Bruce Museum grounds nature walk at 3:00 pm and guests from the Astronomical Society of Greenwich and the Bruce Museum Seaside Center. This event is held in collaboration with the Greenwich Conservation Commission. Free with Museum admission
brucemuseum.org, info@brucemuseum.org

1:00 p.m. » The Greenwich Youth Film Festival at Greenwich Library, Cole Auditorium

T Fairchild Challenge teen component is co-sponsored by the GEC, Greenwich Library, The Avon Theatre Film Center and the Greenwich Arts Council. For more information visit: www.gecgreenwich.org; email youth.director@gecgreenwich.org or call 203-869-9242.

By Erin Dodds, Chairman of the Green Committee

When was the last time you went on a field trip? The PIFS Green Committee and Education Committee recently co-hosted a field trip for PIFS parents to the Stamford warehouse of Mike’s Organic Delivery. Most of us know Mike from his amazing summer baskets and home delivery service, but did you know that you can now order a la carte from his website? In even bigger news, did you know that he now hosts an under-the-radar, private market every Friday morning at his warehouse in Stamford? There he offers direct access to his stash of fresh produce, local dairy, pasture raised meats, eggs from pasture raised hens, fresh bread, grass fed butter… the list goes on!

If you haven’t been to Mike’s website recently, please stop in.

What We Are Reading

Our PIFS students are learning quite a bit about planting seeds that support their snacks and lunches. They love nurturing the seeds that will grow into the tomatoes and basil that will end up on their pizzas in September! In addition, our children are also learning about planting seeds that will support our local wildlife and pollinators. Here is a great article about how you can do the same at home: http://www.rodalesorganiclife.com/garden/5-ways-your-garden-can-support-the-local-wildlife.

What We Are Cooking

I’ve known Alexa Fishback and Hala Si-Ahmed since our oldest kids were toddlers at PIFS. Those toddlers are now 9 years old and we are still great friends. Alexa and Hala are the talented creators of AaHa Restart Cleanse and their post-holiday, January cleanse featured a recipe that is now in weekly rotation at my house. I begged them to let me share it with you. Here is a link to their website in case any of you want to join their next cleanse, which starts on May 8: http://www.aaharestart.com/

Thank you, Alexa and Hala for sharing this delicious recipe with PIFS! This is the kind of food you can expect to eat when you do an AaHa cleanse week…

Roasted Veggie Quinoa Bowl with Tahini Dressing

Ingredients:

• 1 Cup quinoa
• 1 Bunch of asparagus, with hard ends removed
• ¾ cup small Brussels sprouts, halved
• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 Tbsp salt & pepper
• Protein options: Sliced roasted chicken, steamed fava beans, grilled shrimp or sliced salmon

For the Tahini Dressing:

• 3 Tbsp tahini
• Juice of 1 lemon
• About 3 Tbsp water (add 1 at a time and you may need more or less to get a thick but runny consistency)
• 2 Tbsp fresh chopped parsley
• 2 Tbsp fresh chopped cilantro
• 1 garlic clove, peeled
• ½ Tsp salt & pepper
• Optional garnish: More chopped flat leaf parsley, pomegranate seeds and/or pine nuts

Instructions:

• Pre-heat oven to 400°
• Cook quinoa as per package directions
• Arrange asparagus and Brussels sprouts on baking tray lined with non-stick foil
• Drizzle each tray with olive oil and season with salt & pepper
• Bake vegetables for about 20 minutes or until slightly crispy
• When quinoa is cooked, place in serving bowl
• Cut cooked asparagus spears into small 1″ pieces
• Top quinoa with asparagus pieces and roasted Brussels sprouts
• Add your protein of choice to top the dishFor the Tahini Dressing:
• Mix all ingredients together in mini-prep food processor
• Add in water slowly until you reach a consistency that is creamy but not too thick or too watery
• Drizzle the dressing over the quinoa dish
• Garnish with additional parsley, pomegranate seeds and/or pine nuts

What’s Happening

Greenwich Audubon

Search for frogs, salamanders and more this weekend at the Greenwich Audubon: http://ct.audubon.org/events/ponds-vernal-pools-search-frogs-salamanders-more.

Garden Education Center of Greenwich

Join the Garden Education Center as they design a stunning arrangement for your home with garden cutting flowers, houseplants and herbs reflecting nature’s summer bounty.  Leading designers use begonia and geranium leaves along with thyme and mint in arrangements. A variety of annuals, houseplants and herbs will be available for purchase. Bring clippers.

http://www.gecgreenwich.org/store/p78/trish_osullivan-Floral-design-arranging-garden-flowers-houseplants-herbs-at-GEC-CT

Simple Tip

This week’s simple tip from Diane Gordon…
As you plan your garden this year, try a new vegetable or flower to add some variety.

By Erin Dodds, Chairman of the Green Committee 

What are your resolutions for 2017? My favorite goals are the ones I set with my children.  Kids love to feel like they are part of important family decisions and I find it easier to stick to resolutions when there are little eyes keeping me honest.  This year, my girls and I have committed to spending even more time planning our meals around locally available meat and produce, and we are already making plans to expand our kitchen garden this spring.  What are some small steps you and your family can take to be greener citizens in 2017?

Recycling and composting are hot topics in the PIFS classrooms right now, so ask your child if he or she would like to do more of that with you at home. If you really want to have some fun, you might want to consider composting with worms.  Yes, WORMS!  Just before the holiday break, we expanded our composting initiative at PIFS and added worm composting to the Science Room.  If you aren’t ready to welcome the little wrigglers into your family, feel free to make frequent visits to the Science Room with your child to see what our worms are up to.  For those of you ready to take the plunge, check out these worm bins you can start at home.

Do you and your PIFS student want to explore gardening together this summer? Growing your own produce is a wonderful commitment to your family’s nutrition and to the environment as a whole.  A recent study led by David Cleveland at the University of Santa Barbara found that for every kilogram of vegetables you grow yourself, you reduce greenhouse gas emissions by two kilograms, compared with buying produce from a store. Modern Farmer recently ran a great article on this: Are Backyard Gardens a Weapon Against Climate Change?

What We Are Reading

This is one of my favorite non-fiction books of all time.  I reread it every spring! It’s an easy read because Barbara Kingsolver can write about anything and make it riveting.  Many of you may recognize the author’s name from the world of fiction, but this is a fascinating look at Ms. Kingsolver’s personal life and family.  For one year, she and her family committed to eating only food they could grow or raise on their own or purchase from a local farmer.  This book is what originally inspired me to change our family’s eating habits and highlighted the importance of supporting local farms and the farmers who work tirelessly to grow food for us.

What We Are Cooking

In Animal, Vegetable, Miracle, featured above, Barbara Kingslover includes delicious family recipes from their year eating only locally grown or raised food.  Here is an appropos recipe we enjoy from the chapter, “What Do You Eat In January?”

Butternut Bean Soup (serves 4)

• 1½ cups dried white beans, soaked overnight and drained
• 3 medium Portobello mushroom caps, sliced (optional)
• 6 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 1 tablespoon thyme
• 1 tablespoon sage
• 4 teaspoons rosemary
• 2 butternut or hubbard squash, halved lengthwise and seeded
• Olive oil
• Salt and pepper to taste

Combine beans and spices in a large saucepan, add water to cover amply, and simmer for 30-40 minutes, until beans are tender and most water has cooked off.  Add mushrooms toward the end.

While beans are cooking, drizzle a large roasting pan with olive oil and arrange squash skin side down.  Cook at 400 degrees for about 40 minutes, until fully tender when pierced with a fork.

Remove from oven and serve each half squash filled with a generous scoop of bean soup.

What’s Happening

Field Trip – Friday, February 10th @ 9:15 a.m.

We are thrilled to announce a really fun opportunity coming up for us next week…  Mike Geller, of Mike’s Organic Delivery, will meet us in his pop-up market to speak with us about local farms, eating sustainably, and the farmers he works with. He’ll have cold brew coffee and a few other goodies for us to sample, plus we will have time to shop the market and load up on fresh items for the weekend. The best part is, he plans to donate 10% of the proceeds back to PIFS!

Save the Dates

Tuesday, February 7 @ 11:30 a.m.
Guest speakers Orla Cashman and Steven Bennett
“The Effects and Management of Screen Time”

Tuesday, February 14 @ 8:45 a.m.
Green Committee meeting

By Erin Dodds, Chairman of the Green Committee

The PIFS Green Committee kicked off the month of November with a visit from Aleksandra Moch, who helped us get started with composting. Our children have been gardening for years at PIFS and have learned about the benefits of applying compost to garden beds. We thought it would be fun to take another step and teach them about how their snack-time waste can be used to nourish the garden plants that will end up on their lunch plates next June.

The children are learning what a “compost pile” is made of… it’s a magical mix of things like fruit and vegetable peels, autumn leaves, scraps of paper, worms…. ALL the things they love! Our students will watch all of this slowly break down over the next several months into garden gold.
Would you like to talk with your PIFS youngster at home about composting? Below are some fun book ideas and Aleks’ presentation can be viewed here.

The Green Committee was also thrilled to host our first parent program of the year on October 26. Toby Cone and Amy Clark presented “12 Simple Steps to a Healthier Home.” Toby is one of the founding members of Greening Our Children and a former member of the Children’s Environmental Health Center of the Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York City. She is also a proud PIFS grandparent! Amy Clark has been a key member of Greening Our Children from the beginning and is passionate about educating families on how to get toxins out of their bodies and homes. Here is a helpful handout from their inspiring program.

What We Are Reading

What’s Happening

Just because summer is over, you don’t need to abandon all hope of shopping for local produce, eggs and meat at the farmers’ market. The Westport Farmers’ Market is open on Saturdays 10:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m. at 7 Sylvan Lane in Westport. Check out offerings from Riverbank Farm, Wave Hill Breads, The Local Catch, Huckleberries Artisan Pastries, Sono Baking Company and more!

By Erin Dodds, Chairman of the Green Committee

Since 1971 when Fred Weirdsma founded the small nursery school that would eventually become PIFS, our focus has always been on the outdoors and connecting our children with nature. We never had to “go green” because we always were “green.” Our Smokey’s Bounders were hiking the campus, tapping maple trees, planting seedlings and learning about our environment long before other pre-schools realized they should put away the worksheets and get their students outside.

PIFS was named a Connecticut Green LEAF School last spring, the first preschool in Greenwich to earn that designation and the second overall in the state of Connecticut. The number one thing we have learned from the Green LEAF program so far is that being green is all about the journey. As parents, we are bombarded with information and it is so easy to feel overwhelmed. Well, the Green Committee feels the same way. Every time you click on a link, read an article or scroll through Facebook, you start to think about all the different things you aren’t doing but should be doing. Many schools are far ahead of us in energy conservation. Yet many schools look to us as a shining example of integrating the outdoors into the curriculum or teaching students about the concept of “farm to table” with our gardens. Joining the consortium of Connecticut Green LEAF Schools gives us access to schools across the state that share the same goal: to improve the health and wellness of students and mitigate our impact on the local environment.

One of my favorite things about PIFS is the occasional educational Parent Programs. Since becoming a PIFS parent six years ago, they have always been a great way to connect with other parents and soak up all the expert advice I can handle. We are thrilled that our first Parent Program of this school year will be held October 26th 10:00 a.m. – Noon. The Green Committee is pleased to welcome Toby Cone and Amy Clark, founding members of Greening Our Children. Join us to learn easy ways you can reduce direct exposure to chemicals and choose high quality, safer products for your family as Toby and Amy discuss “12 Simple Steps to a Healthier Home.” Toby and Amy understand that we are all busy parents who want the best for our children. It’s impossible to be perfect, but we don’t want to give up. It’s all about the journey and they are here to help us kick off a great year!

Featured website:

• 2 cups canned organic chickpeas
• 1/3 cup tahini (omit if you or child has an allergy to sesame)
• 1.5 tsp salt
• Juice of two lemons
• 2 TBSP of reserved liquid from the canned chickpeas
• 4 cloves of garlic (or omit if your child doesn’t like it)

First add the garlic to a food processor and mince. I often remove some at this point so my kids can adjust the garlic content later. Then, add the chickpeas, reserved water from the chickpeas, salt, some of the lemon juice, the tahini, and process until almost smooth. This is a great time to taste the mixture and add more lemon or minced garlic if desired. When the taste is just right, process until smooth. Serve with fresh carrots, peppers, cucumbers, cauliflower, pita or even pretzels. I usually drizzle a little bit of olive oil over the top, just before serving.

This is an Ina Garten recipe that I like to play around with and adapt to my daughters’ tastes. They love sampling it as we go and shouting, “It needs more lemon”, or “That’s enough garlic”. You really can’t go wrong. It also works without the tahini if you are making it for someone who is allergic to sesame. I usually drizzle a little olive oil into it while it’s mixing if I omit the tahini.