February 2026
Sustainable Warwick Minutes
February 18, 2026
Big thanks to Julia Calderon! We thanked Julia Calderon for her years of contribution to Sustainable Warwick. She is now retiring from the Steering Committee, but will stay actively involved in our activities. A dinner will be organized in the spring to thank Julia for all she has done.
Presentation
Town of Warwick Climate Smart Communities: We heard an overview of the Town’s Climate Smart Community work. Among other things, the task force has helped the Town get an allocation from a community solar array that will save the Town’s taxpayers ~$8,500 annually. If you find your current electricity bills distressing and neither have solar panels nor have signed up for community solar, contact our Climate & Energy Committee to learn about how to get a 10% discount by signing up for Community Solar. CleanEnergy@sustainablewarwick.org
Action Reports
Waste Not, Want Not Survey: Kate asked everyone to share the news about the survey, which so far has been completed by more than 220 residents. The survey is available online, as well as in hard copy at all three village libraries, and the Town and Village Halls. CleanEnergy@sustainablewarwick.org
Food Scraps to Compost: Unfortunately, we had to temporarily pause the winter food scraps drop off at Goodmaker Acres (GA). Due to the harsh winter weather, GA has been unable to run the program as planned and cannot receive any food scrap donations currently. We’re awaiting a spring thaw to resume the program. Program updates will be shared here, as well as on SW's Facebook page. Please do NOT drop off bags of food scraps until the program resumes. garden@sustainablewarwick.org
Pollinator Pathway: Sally described the tree starter kits that will be available for purchase in late April or early May. The $25 kits will include a tree seedling from the DEC’s nursery in Saratoga, plus a protective tube and hand-made root watering ring. We’ll have white oak and burr oak seedlings, plus will also sell for $10 flowering dogwood seedlings (an understory tree) and ninebark seedlings (a flowering shrub). Kits can be purchased for home planting or for donation to parks in Warwick. The Pollinator Pathway Committee will use proceeds from this sale to expand pollinator habitat in Mountain Lake Park. If you are enthusiastic about planting trees and want to help out, please contact the committee. Pollinators@sustainablewarwick.org.
Book Club: “The Climate Book” by Greta Thunberg was a popular read; it’s a comprehensive resource on climate science and solutions. The next title, a novel, is “How High We Go in the Dark” by Sequoia Nagamatsu, which we will discuss on March 10th. BookClub@sustainablewarwick.org
Social Media: We need help expanding our social media presence, especially on Instagram, and are considering working with students looking for community service hours to assist in this effort. Do you know anyone who is interested?SteeringCommittee@sustainablewarwick.org
Green Screen Interviews: The next local election will be for the School Board. It would be helpful for the Green Screen to hear from parents what topics they would like to see addressed by candidates. SteeringCommittee@sustainablewarwick.org
New York Focus Article on Virtual Power Plants: Julia recounted that two journalists from New York Focus (see: nysfocus.com, a non-profit news organization that focuses on NYS politics) interviewed her about her experience with solar panels plus backup batteries, which she got a special deal on by signing up to participate in a pilot study conducted by O&R about virtual batteries. The article (“How a More Flexible Grid Could Save New York Billions”) was published earlier this week. Well done, Julia!
Earth Day Event @ Albert Wisner Public Library: This event, co-sponsored by Sustainable Warwick, is scheduled for April 18th at Albert Wisner Public Library from 11.00am to 2.00pm. The goal is for the programs and resources mentioned in the Waste Not Survey to be represented so that people can learn more about them. Teresa Vela-Hayes is leading the event. She also envisions several “greeters” to help guide visitors to the right areas. There will also be planned activities for children and young families to encourage more attendees.
Action Items
More on Future of Energy in NYS: Bill Makofske updated his presentation from last month on the energy crisis. Many states are now requiring new data centers to provide their own electricity supply, so that other ratepayers are not burdened by their burgeoning electricity requirements. Gov. Hochul is planning 5 new nuclear power plants as part of the state’s response. There are bills in front of the NYS legislature, Assembly Bill A10141 and Senate Bill S9144, to propose a ban on big data centers until the Public Service Commission can figure out how to accommodate them. He encouraged members to call their Assemblymember and Senator on these bills.
There will be a No Kings Day march on March 28th in Memorial Park.
Several environmental organizations will hold an event in Albany on March 10th. If you are interested in participating, you can find the details here.
Our next meeting will be Wednesday, March 18th via Zoom at 7:00pm.
Hope to see you soon!