Around the Towns

Green Up Day coordinator needed

BRATTLEBORO - The town is looking for a volunteer coordinator to lead Green Up Day efforts.

Green Up Day is Saturday, May 7, and anyone who cares about the environment and neighborhood beauty enough to rally volunteers and hand out Green Up Day supplies to other enthusiastic Brattleboro residents of all ages will love serving in this role.

Contact Robin Rieske at [email protected] or Kate at [email protected] to learn more, or visit greenupvermont.org.

Yard sale to benefit Putney Food Shelf

PUTNEY - On Saturday, April 9, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., there will be a yard sale with all proceeds going to benefit the Putney Food Shelf. The sale will take place at 210 West Hill Rd. (between Green Mountain Orchards and The Putney School).

There will be household items; lots of books for sale and some free; furniture, including couches; and artwork and art supplies available. No early birds.

Also, the Putney Food Shelf says it needs volunteers to work during its operating hours Fridays, 1 to 4 p.m., and Saturdays, 8:30 to 11 a.m. Volunteers are also needed to go to the Vermont Foodbank in Brattleboro to pick up, unload, and restock the Food Shelf on Fridays from 7:45 to 8:30 a.m. If interested, email [email protected].

Senior lunch served in Dummerston

DUMMERSTON - Evening Star Grange and Senior Solutions will hold the first April Senior Lunch on Wednesday, April 13, with seating inside as well as take-out meals from the Grange Hall in the center of town.

Take-outs will be available from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. and the inside meal will be served at noon. The menu will include baked ham, homemade baked beans or vegetarian baked beans, macaroni and cheese, corn pudding, and yellow cake with lemon sauce for dessert.

Reservations are necessary to allow for preparation of enough food, and can be made by calling the Grange by April 12 at 802-254-1138; leave your name, telephone number, and the number of meals you would like, and whether you want to eat in or take-out. A donation of $3 for those 60 and older or $4 for the younger folks is suggested.

Leaf collection schedule announced

BRATTLEBORO - Curbside spring leaf collection will take place on Friday, April 15, and Friday, April 29. These are the only days scheduled for curbside pickup.

All leaves and clippings must be contained in brown-paper leaf bags available for purchase at local businesses. No plastic bags or other containers will be accepted, as the materials collected will be used for compost.

The bags must be left at the curb by 7 a.m. on scheduled collection days.

Acceptable waste includes leaves, grass, clippings, garden waste, twigs, and branches no larger than 1 inch in diameter and 2 feet long. No other household trash is to be included.

Leaves, brush, and yard debris are also accepted year-round at the Windham Solid Waste Management District on Old Ferry Road. The transfer station is open weekdays from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. and Saturdays from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Leaves may be discarded there for free; a fee is charged for brush or leaves mixed with brush.

Leaf and yard debris are collected via the curbside program twice in the spring and twice in the fall. For more information, call the Department of Public Works at 802-254-4255.

Landmark College sponsors Red Cross blood drive

PUTNEY - Landmark College will host a community blood drive with the American Red Cross on Tuesday, April 12, from 10:30 a.m. to 3 p.m., at the Café Court of Landmark College's Student Center.

Blood is routinely transfused to patients with cancer and other diseases, premature babies, organ transplant recipients and trauma victims, according to the Red Cross. Donors of all blood types are needed, especially those with types O negative, B negative and A negative. According to the Red Cross, type O negative is the universal blood type that can be safely transfused to anyone and is often used to treat trauma patients.

For more information or to make an appointment to donate, sign up online at redcrossblood.org and search for April 12 date.

Urine reclamation program comes to Bellows Falls

BELLOWS FALLS - Learn the benefits of urine recycling and how to become involved from Julia Cavicchi of Rich Earth Institute during the Rockingham Free Public Library's Zoom on Monday, April 11, at 6 p.m.

Urine contains all of the vital nutrients that plants need to thrive. Instead of flushing urine downstream, where it fertilizes harmful algal blooms, it can be used locally to fertilize farms and support local food systems.

In preparation for the installation of Rich Earth Institute's urine depot in Bellows Falls, Cavicchi will explain the collection, transport, treatment and fertilizer application practices of urine nutrient recycling. She will also invite participants to contribute to a community science survey and offer information about at-home urine collection units and home garden use, followed by time for questions.

To receive an invitation to this live Zoom presentation, contact [email protected], call 802-463-4270, or stop by the RFPL at 65 Westminster St. To sign up for Rich Earth's Rockingham mailing list, go to eepurl.com/hlmrU1.

Master Gardeners host webinar on common and unusual vegetables

BELLOWS FALLS - Organic gardener, writer, and educator Henry Homeyer has been growing vegetables all his life and will share some of what he has learned in a free webinar on Saturday, April 16.

The program, open to all interested gardeners and homeowners, will be offered via Zoom from 9 to 10 a.m. Although free to attend, donations will be accepted to support garden education programming offered by the Southeast Chapter of University of Vermont (UVM) Extension Master Gardeners.

Homeyer will share methods for growing your own food, including artichokes, purple cauliflowers that set side shoots, and sorrel, a perennial green. He will include how to extend the season by building a hot box that will warm the soil using fermenting horse manure and other techniques. He will be pleased to answer your gardening questions.

The program is sponsored by the Southeast Chapter of the UVM Extension Master Gardeners in collaboration with the Rockingham Free Public Library. Participants must be signed into Eventbrite to participate. To register, go to bit.ly/658-garden. ADA accommodations may be available by request.

Price Chopper/Market 32 raises funds for Ukraine

SCHENECTADY, N.Y. - During April, Price Chopper/Market 32 is running a fundraiser for World Central Kitchen and its food relief efforts in Ukraine to serve hot, nourishing meals around the clock in cities across Ukraine and at border crossings with Poland, Romania, Hungary, and Moldova.

According to a news release, cashiers in its 130 stores will ask customers if they would like to round up the change in their transactions to the nearest dollar in support of World Central Kitchen's efforts. Price Chopper/Market 32 will match all donations up to $25,000.

World Central Kitchen (wck.org) is a nonprofit organization that is first to the frontlines, providing meals in response to humanitarian, climate, and community crises, while working to build resilient food systems with locally led solutions. It has served more than 60 million fresh meals to people impacted by natural disasters and other crises around the world since it was founded in 2010.

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