A Presentation by Rye Nature Center and Rye Sustainability Committee

Learn how to grow a beautiful garden with natural strategies that can protect wildlife and reduce your family's exposure to synthetic chemicals. Presented by Taro Ietaka, Director of Conservation & Land Stewardship of the Rye Nature Center and Lori Fontanes, co-head, Rye Healthy Yard Program of the City of Rye Sustainability Committee.

Free and open to the public!

When: Saturday, April 30
Time: 1:00 - 2:00 pm
Where: Harrison Public Library, 2 Bruce Ave, Harrison, New York 10528

Bios:
Taro Ietaka (Director of Conservation and Land Stewardship, Rye Nature Center) graduated from SUNY Geneseo and has continued his education at the Eagle Hill Institute and New York Botanical Garden. He has worked as an educator for the last thirteen years at various nature centers throughout the County, teaching both children and adults about the natural world. He has managed hundreds of forested acres locally, creating and implementing habitat management plans, including at the Rye Nature Center. He is also a member of the City of Rye Sustainability Committee's Healthy Yard Program.

Lori Fontanes (co-head, Rye Healthy Yard Program, City of Rye Sustainability Committee, writer/photographer/backyard farmer) raises ducks, plants and a daughter at their home in Rye, NY. She grows more than twenty different kinds of fruits, vegetables and cover crops on land previously used for lawn. She writes a column for Backyard Poultry and has also contributed to Countryside and Grit. As a citizen scientist, she's been involved in a long-term case study involving lead contamination in suburban soils with Dr. Joshua Cheng at Brooklyn College. As a community advocate for public health and the environment, she's a member of the Rye Y Cross-District Wellness Committee and is co-head of the Rye Healthy Yard Program for the City of Rye Sustainability Committee.