BK ROT

Happy Sunday everyone! Sunday food scraps drop-off will be going from 12-3pm per usual . Remember no plastic bags in the bins unless they are compostable plastic bags, and if you drop off paper bags along with your food scraps remember to break the bag in pieces #dropoff #compostingsunday

We love a morning workout! Thanks to the volunteers who joined us to learn about composting through processing a fresh batch of scraps and giving our windrows some turning love. Shout out to our wind sculptors - Jae, Justin and Mia for helping out today. Shout out to Lesly and Ceci for co-leading the volunteer session and Kofi for deep-cleaning our barrels. The site is looking good . #morningworkout #composting #volunteers

On Sundays, Mondays and Wednesdays, our team of microhaulers goes out to collect food scraps from households by bike! On other days, you can find our team picking up food scraps and organic waste from businesses and mutual aid groups. We are proud of our hauling work, reduce truck miles in our neighborhoods and transforming this "waste"into something that can feed the earth and our communities. #biking #microhaulers

Call for volunteers and for action! 1. We are looking for 1-2 more volunteers to join us tomorrow morning to process and turn windrows at one of our partner gardens. Must follow COVID rules (don’t come if you’ve been exposed / have COVID | wear a mask | wash hands upon arrival | maintain 6’ distance). You’ll be learning from our Youth Leader, Lesly! DM us if interested 2. Call to action! Email your reps for climate, jobs and justice! Anyone and everyone in New York State should do this! We are proud to be a part of @nyrenews and fighting with a powerful coalition to advance climate justice in NYS. Link in bio for a 1 min digital action

This weekend, our team got to learn and up their building skills . We built a shade structure donated from a nearby garden - the perfect build project to learn about tools and basic carpentry. After finishing up the shed/shade structure, our team was able to build a composting storage bin that was needed at the site with repurposed wood. We are grateful for all of these opportunities for our team to build skills in construction, facilitation and teamwork. The teamwork and site projects done this weekend were the best part of it all! #carpentry #shedbuilding #teamwork #bigbodybuilding

Sunday food scraps drop-off will be going from 12-3pm. Excited to see you all! Here are some pictures of our wonderful friends at the garden

Through our Youth Leaders program, BK ROT Youth Leaders learned of environmental and climate justice - from a local to global lens. We are moved by how much our Youth Leaders have understood the dignified work of diverting food waste from a harmful waste system and transforming it towards a greater good. In Lesly’s own words, being a youth leader means purpose and honor. It means multiple opportunities to learn, teach and create. I've built family with BK ROT that supports me to give back to my community and become more aware of our world. by @cecime.seed #BKROT #YouthLeader #Composting #ClimateJustice #Community"

Join us next Wednesday on @SaveOurCompost at 6PM for an Instagram Live session on Afro-Indigenous Composting Knowledge and Histories. Featuring @soulfirefarm Farm Manager and Co-Director Leah Penniman and @BK_ROT Executive Director Ceci Pineda, we will uplift Afro-Indigenous current and ancestral composting practices. We are especially excited to share these stories with other Black, Indigenous and People of Color in the composting and agriculture world recognizing how our histories and legacies are not often reflected in this work.

BK ROT Youth Leader highlight: Lesly!A child of immigrant parents and from Mexican descent, Lesly calls Bushwick her home. Over her time as a Youth Leader, Lesly has shown excellence in composting and building clean, elegant windrows. Aside from composting, Lesly has learned the beauty in creating and rebirthing ‘garbage’ into new life. From the start, she showed a commitment to teamwork, self growth, and hard work- quickly taking on tasks when presented and challenging herself to build up strength to move up in shovel size. Or taking time outside the program to practice bike riding before starting to haul food waste. Lesly’s commitment moving forward is to give back more than getting. I want to be more aware, less quiet, and more adventurous. by @valrizzo #BKROT #YouthLeader #Composting #SelfGrowth

As per usual, our Sunday food scraps drop-off will be going from 12-3pm or until we reach capacity. Retail and burlap bags available on Sundays from 12-3pm also. We leave you with these beautiful pictures

A couple of weeks ago, some of our team got to go on our first camping trip! Highlights included learning how to pitch a tent in the dark, learning how to make a fire and fire-cooking, harvesting carrots with @RockSteadyFarm, visiting @KitesNest where our crew got to learn how to press apple cider and shared some compost tips, giving gratitude to the Hudson river, hiking views, delicious foods and some hill rolling. We are so grateful for our community who supported making th...is happen! Deep gratitude to @mishiamara for opening up your home to us and hosting us with so much sweetness, nourishment, the veggies you grew and delicious salad dressings, @gabriela_alvarez_martinez_ for driving and your cooking skills, @kimberly.jean.v for the company and support, ____ as the original stewards and keepers of the lands we slept upon, WILDSEED, @RockSteadyFarm and @KitesNest for hosting us, and @memoirsofadisha, @priyuklii, @big.fay & @leigh_banks for hooking our crew up with some gear! It was most of our youth crew's first time camping - so wouldn't have been able to do it without y'all <3 #TBT #BigBodyCamping" See more

Composting is dignified, hard work that gives back to the earth, our communities and as BK ROT Youth workers are uplifting to our bodies as well. In Crystal's own words, Being a youth leader means I'm Leading the way for teens just like me. Not a lot of teens are into composting or manual labor. I want to change the Youth's outlook on this type of work. My work not only gives back to the earth, but to my body as well." #YouthLeader #BKROT #Composting #SelfGrowth by @valrizzo "

BK ROT Youth Leader highlight: Crystal! Born and raised in Bed-Stuy, Crystal inherited her passion and greenthumb from her mother who hails from Trinidad and has been gardening since she was born. Crystal enjoyed learning about the composting perspective of the food justice system and building a deeper knowledge of what really goes on in the composting process and how to execute it properly. While Crystal shared it was a physically challenging job and experience, she took it ...one day at a time. In Crystal’s own words, eventually I felt stronger, more efficient, and less tired. I’ve also started exercising again and taken up running very recently. I’ve never felt better physically and for that I am grateful. My work not only gives back to the earth but to my body as well. Crystal would like to share that if she could do this, anyone can. You never know what you’re truly capable of until you push yourself. Crystal has demonstrated perseverance, determination and a commitment to try new things and grow. We were impressed by her ability to quickly learn and share her observations and learnings with others, supporting our overall team growth. #YouthLeader #BKROT #Composting #SelfGrowth See more

For Bryant, being a youth leader means constantly learning from others and trying to become better every day. Being a Youth Leader is hard work, but it is also rewarding. When you see your effort being paid off, it is one of the best feelings ever. For Bryant, being a Youth Leader also means becoming more responsible for himself and becoming more aware of his surroundings and environment. As he shared, we must open ourselves to learning all the perspectives an issue may have, as you want to relate to as many people as possible and include everyones’ voices. #ForwardFriday #YouthLeader #BKROT #SelfGrowth