Green Saves Green Member Meeting Minutes

Monday, February 6, 2023

6 p.m., Pasquotank County Library


Present: Karl Brandspigel, Krystina Cato, Cashmere Chaison, Nita Coleman, Beth Delaney, Phil Donahue, Jane Elfring, Marlene Greer, Steve Harris, Bill Kruse, Sue Kruse, Chip Lewin, Maria Mandis, Elaine McKeown, Anna Montero, Isabel Mugass, Rob Powell, Anne Radke, Ray Scaffa, Scott Sullens, Tim Tolson, Steve VanGiesen, Ruth Wells, Adam White, Gavin White, Curtis Wrenn, Sheila Wrenn


Chair Report

Thirteen members advised they would be unable to attend tonight’s meeting.

The nominating committee recommended Charles Jordan, Chip Lewin, Adam White, and Yaffa Howell to replace outgoing board members. A motion was made to accept all four as board members and was approved unanimously.

Nita, Marlene, and Sheila were nominated for chair, secretary, and treasurer, respectively. The motion was approved unanimously.

Anna Montero is our new intern. She will be working on the social media committee. 


Member Report

Krystina Cato, an ECSU student, shared details of her recent trip to Costa Rica to learn about its sustainability practices. Krystina also reported she is planning a tree planting with students on the ECSU campus on Feb. 18. The group will plant 15 red maples trees they will receive from our Plant A Valentine giveaway.


Fenwick-Hollowell Trail

COA is looking at planning more events to get more people out to enjoy the trail. COA’s first star party at the trail will be held April 21. A donor gave COA a large, expensive telescope. It will be housed behind the campus in a structure with a retractable roof.

The Advisory Board wants to continue the trail with a walking path around the front of the campus. The plan is to complete this after the new nursing building is done. There are now four security cameras installed along the trail, and new signage at each entrance. Mileage markers will be added in the near future.

The idea of a kayak launch at COA is still alive but will likely wait until an overall campus plan is complete and approved.


Knobbs Creek Nature Trail Restoration

The contractor who did the renovation at the Fenwick-Hollowell Trail walked the wetlands area and provided a rough estimate of $200,000 for just the amount of raised boardwalk that will be needed to restore the trail using a similar route as the old trail. The cost is more than double what was anticipated, putting restoration out of reach for the moment. Suggestions to reduce the cost include making a shorter trail, or starting from a different spot. There’s also the issue of the summer baseball team’s plan to use the ballpark behind the recreation center. The owners want to fence off access to the ballpark which would restrict access to the creek and any potential kayak launch and end of the wetlands trail. We’d like to see the walkway to the creek remain open and outside any fenced area. It was mentioned that some of the labor for the project – at least the clearing part – could be done by ECSU volunteers. The football and basketball teams are looking for volunteer opportunities. We will continue to work on this to see how we can reduce the cost and still get something valuable to the community.


Sentara Hospital Trail

Beth Delaney advised Sentara plans to extend the Halstead bike trail across the front of their property. The site plan also calls for some walking paths.


Goat Island Platform Restoration Project

Gavin White is currently working on a budget and proposal. He advised he has enough volunteers with the Scout Troop and their family members. He plans on doing the work in March. He said it will take a couple days to complete.


Upcoming Events

  1. Boys & Girls Club Tree Planting. We’ll be at the club at 3:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 8 to help the kids plant 10 trees. Volunteers are Jared, Marlene, and Nita. We need more volunteers to help out. Ray will recruit some ECSU students.

  2. Trees & Wildlife Presentation, 11 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 11 at Port Discover. Volunteers are Nita and Anna.

  3. Plant A Valentine Workshop & Giveaway, Saturday Feb. 18, Museum of the Albemarle. We have 300 trees to give away to people who show up between 10:30 a.m. to noon. It will be first come, first served for the giveaway. There are still seats available for the Plant A Valentine Tree Workshop. Must sign up in advance, and can reserve your tree when you sign up. Everyone is welcome. Adam will bring some Scouts to help wrap trees.

  4. Pre-Marathon Downtown Cleanup, Saturday, Feb. 25, Waterfront Park. Volunteers are Marlene, Michelle, Sharon, Tim, Sara, Bill and Sue Kruse, Nita and Karl.


Next GSG meeting will be 5:30 p.m. Monday, March 6 at the Pasquotank County Library.