NYCkayaker The Newtown Pippin returns!

[Erik Baard]

Hi All,

Some of you might recall my dream of restoring the Newtown Pippin to its
home. I struggled for a few years to get a small orchard, or even just a few
trees, on the Newtown Creek bank in Queens. It reminded me of how I
struggled fruitlesly for years to get a boat launch at Gantry Plaza State
Park.

In each case the solution that emerged was the same: when failing with small
and reasonable goals, try BIG and ridiculous ones.

In the first case a whole LIC Community Boathouse, with two launches,
followed (along with a successful push for some form of water trail
including sites not on the Hudson River proper). With the Newtown Pippin
Restoration and Celebration, we've planted over 100 apple trees in NYC in
2009 and have a commitment to plant 500 more in coming years. And now the
utterly shameless boasting:

http://newtownpippin.org/whos-planted/

But seriously, I know a lot of people on this email list have creative
projects in their heads and on their hard drives and notepads. It can be
really frustrating to get things done on the water or waterfront in this
town, despite marked progress. So my advice is this: if humble efforts are
failing, be obnoxiously ambitious. After all, the community wins if you win.

Warm regards,

Erik

-- 
Erik Baard
FREE APPLE TREES!
www.newtownpippin.org

FREE KAYAKING!
www.licboathouse.org

Your Urban Wilderness Community:
www.naturecalendar.com