Earth Matter
Tucked away in the southern part of Governor’s Island, facing New York harbor’s Buttermilk Channel, is a huge, steaming-hot pile of compost. The smell of decomposing food waste permeates the air as I watch curls of white steam rise from the hot compost mound, which sits atop concrete at the Earth Matter New York Soil Start Farm.
Founded in 2009, Earth Matter is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that educates New Yorkers on composting and urban farming, helps process the city’s food waste and landscape materials, and fosters a community of people from all walks of life that are interested in urban sustainability. Earth Matter’s Governors Island farm includes plant beds, a bright yellow supply shed, mounds of compost (which heats up as a result of microorganisms breaking down organic matter, producing steam in cold weather), an orchard, and even a chicken coop! Reliant primarily on funding from the New York City Department of Sanitation’s (DSNY) Compost Project and competitive grants in order to operate, Earth Matter experienced substantial budget decreases as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, a stronger interest in urban farming and community participation has allowed it to reach a wider audience, making way for the nonprofit to have a larger impact on New York.
While it has always been focused on community engagement through volunteer workdays and youth internships, Executive Director Marisa DeDominicis describes that pandemic-related funding loss created a “sense of urgency for the idea of giving.” Earth Matter experienced a surge in volunteer, apprentice, and youth intern involvement throughout the pandemic. It also grew and donated produce for the Catholic Worker St. Joseph’s House, a food pantry in Manhattan’s Bowery neighborhood. DeDominicis explains that increased involvement, driven by volunteers’ desire to help during a time of job loss and food insecurity, “really served us and it resonated to everyone who came [to volunteer].” The nonprofit also “felt really grateful and supported by several foundations as well as many individuals who really helped us a lot.”
While New Yorkers began getting more involved in urban sustainability, the DSNY’s temporary termination of its curbside collection of residents’ compost revealed just how important having access to food waste disposal is. DeDominicis points out that people “didn’t take [compost collection] for granted anymore.” She says that the program’s suspension “made people realize that it wasn’t an institution, that it was still a fringe, even though it had been funded by the Department of Sanitation and through City Council funding.”
Though the Compost Program returned on April 22, 2021, DeDominicis points out that there will always be a need for education, even if there are compost programs; there will “always be a need for people to understand,” she says, “just to have a drop-off program is not the same as learning and making it as part of an urban farm.”
To those that want to get involved in urban sustainability, farming, and composting, DeDominicis encourages coming to Earth Matter. Earth Matter plans on continuing with their youth internship program for teens ages sixteen to eighteen (of which I am an alumna) and says that there are many other youth programs to apply to in NYC, such as at East New York Farms and Red Hook Initiative. Young or old, you can also get involved in community gardens in your neighborhood through volunteering or reaching out to see what they need help with. DeDominicis says that “a lot of people think, oh, I gotta start something new” but that there is often “an opening for you to participate and be part of a community, and sometimes the best place to go is one that you’re going to have access to.” In short, it’s best to start with the little things that you can do, even if that’s just collecting compost at home and dropping it off at a farmer’s market: “if you could walk to it, or, you know, it’s a ten-minute bike ride, chances are you’ll be able to stick with it for some time” DeDominicis says.
In the future, DeDominicis hopes to see “more educational understanding in schools,” and for the world “to start looking at things as resource recovery.” She points out that having sustainability coordinators in schools will ensure that someone is taking responsibility for how schools manage their waste and educate students on sustainability. She hopes that participation in sustainability efforts is easy and integrated throughout our everyday lives. Increased education will lead to increased awareness, which will in turn help foster intent and mindfulness when it comes to waste disposal. We “just really have to tease out the understanding that it’s our responsibility to do that,” says DeDominicis, so that we can promote and establish change across the personal, school, and government levels.
Overall, DeDominicis is most excited that “more and more people are getting involved” in the movement for sustainability, compost education, and urban farming, and “are beginning to recognize that they can play a part in it.” As we ease into life with fewer COVID-19 restrictions, it is even easier to join the movement and create a better world for us all—I hope to see you at Earth Matter soon!