Seth Leitman, also known as The Green Living Guy, is a prominent figure in the green living and electric vehicle community. He's not only a green living consultant, author, and electric car expert, but he also holds the esteemed position of President of the Greater Hudson River Electric Vehicle Association. His influence extends beyond his credentials, as he's hosted a TV show with NYCMedia, maintains a podcast, and has built a robust social media presence across multiple platforms. Moreover, his blog boasts an impressive archive of over 7,700 posts, and as a testament to his expertise, he's test-driven every electrified car on the market for the past decade, covering a wide range of green living topics.

Robert Fischman is the founding principal of Sustainable Promise, LLC, helping businesses, nonprofits and communities in their quest to do their part in creating a world that respects the needs of generations yet to come.

Robert has long been an advocate for sustainable building and facility management practices, emphasizing energy efficiency and the elimination of waste in the industry. He brings expertise in low carbon energy efficient strategies & technologies, and in clean energy finance as the managing director and compliance officer for New York State's public benefit PACE finance program. As an engineering and construction management professional, Robert has directed more than a half billion dollars in building projects in the United States, Europe and Latin America. These days, he devotes much of his time to helping his own community move toward a more sustainable future, having served on Westchester County’s Climate Change Task Force and the sustainability advisory committees for his local school district and township, where he has led Solarize and HeatSmart campaigns to help homeowners reduce their carbon footprint while saving energy.

As part of his work in the community, Robert is the Energy Coach for Bedford 2030, providing free guidance to hundreds of local residents and businesses seeking to lower their energy costs and reduce their environmental footprint.

Robert earned his Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering degree from Union College in Schenectady, NY and a Masters of Science degree in Sustainability Management from Columbia University in New York City, where he has researched and written extensively on energy and water policy matters, sustainable transportation systems, and resiliency in the face of climate change.

Lauren Brois is the Director of EnergySmart Homes and GridRewards at Sustainable Westchester. Since 2013, Lauren has led community-based campaigns to help Westchester county residents realize energy savings.

Lauren is a familiar presence at numerous sustainability initiatives across Westchester County. She is a member of the Bedford 2030 Advisory Board, collaborating on events and projects such as Community Compost and the Moon Dance fundraiser. Lauren has supported the Greenlight Awards, a sustainability competition for local high school students which allows them to showcase their solutions to environmental challenges.

Lauren is a highly committed Environmental Educator with a strong record of influencing community behavior and policies through innovative education programs, creative marketing strategies, and strong relationships. She is passionate about environmental stewardship and dedicated to creating a more sustainable world.

Participants:   Charlotte Binns, Jasena Sareil,  Anne-Jaffee Holmes, CJ Reilly, Rosemarie Gatzek, Joan Nenimmo, Maria Ralescu, Jeannie Elder, Laurie Friedman, Kathleen Baca, Lauren Glattly, Adrian Price=Whelan, Renee Shamosh, Melanie Solomon, Bill Estes, Sachin Hardas, Lori Fettner, Damian Chadwick                          

The meeting was held to discuss the increased presence of the Spotted Lanternfly (SLF) in Irvington and to educate residents on the SLF’s negative impact and effective ways to remove them without the use of chemicals.

Jasena Sareil explained that the GPTF has been receiving numerous reports on the sighting of Spotted Lanternfly nymphs. SFL is an invasive pest from Asia that primarily feeds on Tree-of-heaven (Ailanthus altissima) but can also feed on a wide variety of plants such as grapevines, hops, red and silver maple, walnut, sycamore, birch, Tulip tree, fruit trees and others. This insect negatively impacts New York's forests as well as the agricultural and tourism industries. SLF's feeding (sucking on sap) damage stresses plants which can decrease their health and in some cases cause death. As SLF feeds, the insect excretes honeydew (a sugary substance) which can attract bees, wasps, and other insects. The honeydew also builds up and promotes the growth for sooty mold (fungi), which can cover the plant, forest understories, patio furniture, cars, and anything else found below SLF feeding.

NYS is asking its residents to kill the nymphs, adults, and egg masses when spotted.  

In Irvington, we have mostly noticed them on the invasive non-native Tree-of-heaven and Porcelain berry, however, they can be also found on Black walnut, Silver maple, Sycamore, rose bushes etc.

Residents were encouraged to help remove SLFs without the use of chemicals as follows:

1. Squish them by clapping your hands together (gardening gloves help). Approach them from the back if possible. They get tired after about 3 jumps and pause for about 2 seconds so are easier to catch.

2. Step on them.

3. On thorny plants such as rose bushes, hose them down with a strong water pressure and squish / stomp them after they wash off.

4. Use a vacuum, just disconnect the plastic part for carpet/floor so that you can suck them in. If it is a larger trunk of a tree, they will start hiding on the other side so you will need to squish those with your hands. Once done, please put the vacuum bag in a zip lock bag and place it in the trash. Jasena Sareil brought a special vacuum that was provided to the GPTF by the Lower Hudson PRISM.

5. Plat milkweed, which is a crucial plant for the survival of monarch butterflies, but SLF die after digesting its sap.

6. Trap them – Traps can be purchased or made at home. Please also avoid using glue traps as they also kill beneficial insects as well as birds.

What we do not recommend: Unlike some other resources, we DO NOT RECOMMEND the use of any chemicals even a dish soap or vinegar solution as they negatively impact other wildlife. Birds / spiders are learning to eat SLFs and if they ingest them with these solutions on, they will die or get sick.

There is no need to panic. We will get a chance to remove Spotted lanternfly egg masses after they are laid in the late summer and into the early winter, with the majority of egg mass deposition occurring in October. These egg masses survive winter and hatch into SLF nymphs in the spring. These egg masses are the only stationary stage of the SLF, making them an easy target for removal. We will provide educational materials on how to remove egg masses once we start noticing them.

The need for professional removal of Trees-of-heaven was discussed as one of the major ways to address this issue with a special focus on the Old Croton Aqueduct where there is major infestation of TOH as well as Spotted lanternflies.]

At the end, there was a video played of a young student who created an effective homemade trap for SLFs on her beloved maple trees.

Residents were asked to report the sighting of the SLF to the Village of Irvington through this form so that the Village can gather data on this invasive species.

CJ Reilly brought alive SLFs in special tubes to show residents their current size and spoke about the number of TOHs removed from the Irvington Woods. CJ also spoke about other species that are negatively affecting the health of local native trees.

In summary, let’s all get to work with gardening gloves, our hands, feet, and vacuums. Each female can lay up to 100 eggs during its life cycle so every removal counts. We will get an opportunity to remove their egg masses when they start appearing and share educational materials on how to do so.

Helpful Resources:

DEC NYS: https://www.dec.ny.gov/animals/113303.html

PennState Extension Management Resources: https://extension.psu.edu/spotted-lanternfly-management-resources

Circle trap: https://extension.psu.edu/how-to-build-a-spotted-lanternfly-circle-trap

Teen’s successful trap: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yjOKIOOw1ZA

Management of Tree-of-heaven: https://extension.psu.edu/tree-of-heaven

Village of Irvington SLF Report: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdyvVDtJ4PhPYgOYwTuZ2KkaXB6iQkDNvVrn-9NIxoAjbWDVQ/viewform?pli=1

Cornell : https://westchester.cce.cornell.edu/horticulture-environment/invasive-nuisance-species/invasive-pests/spotted-lanternfly

Small handheld and affordable vacuum for capturing SLF on Amazon here.

Social Bike Ride & Picnic Party Meeting Friday evening, April 28, on the Aquaduct. 

Let's have some fun and figure out how to make Broadway for Everybody a reality. We'll casually ride the Old Croton Aqueduct from Sleepy Hollow to Irvington, pick up more friends there, and return to Sleepy Hollow. When we get back, it's time for a picnic party! Duncan's Abbey is providing their (quite delicious) "Tarwe Town" wheat beer. Bring a blanket and whatever else you want to consume. Then we'll have a quick presentation/discussion about Route 9. In June, the Dept. of Transportation's consultant will begin preliminary engineering work for making Route 9 a "complete street." We need to make sure they do a GREAT job. 

Let us know if you plan on coming. info at route9active.org 7:00 pm Gather on the OCA, north side of Bedford Rd (Route 448) 8:00 pm Pickup friends in Irvington (Main St at the OCA) 8:50 pm Pickup latecomers in Sleepy Hollow (at same starting spot), then take short ride to the picnic party spot, where we'll hang out for an hour or so. 

Make sure your headlight batteries are charged. Help Pay for Insurance For this ride to happen, we need to renew our yearly insurance policy. To get insurance, we need money. To get money, we need you to give it: https://biketarrytown.org/donate.php Trustee Meetings At the party meeting, above, we'll be encouraging you to attend Board of Trustee meetings in your village. Mark your calendars now for 7:00 pm for the relevant dates: Sleepy Hollow: 4/25, 5/9 Tarrytown: 5/1, 5/15 Irvington: 5/1, 5/15