Dave Majewski and his crew are eatin’ the rain over on the West Side:

1.25″ of rain today in about 30 minutes. Almost zero stormwater runoff from our lot!

Appx. 65 gals of rain filled in to the 3 barrels you see way in back.
Rain garden taking roof runoff from neighbor. Our street ROW bio-retention was sucking in as much storm water as possible and cleaning it!! The extensive composting and mulching we did on the site is really sucking up massive amounts of rain water and retaining it in the soil.
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Here’s an article from the website of the Lee Valley tool company with a familiar story of using harvested materials to make an “old/new” piece of furniture.

On Saturday, July 25, 2009, the Broadway Market welcomes the WNY community to come celebrate the Market and the Broadway-Fillmore Neighborhood.

There will be informational tables from a variety of neighborhood organizations, Erie County and the City of Buffalo so you can learn more about area and what makes it a unique part of the fabric of WNY. As is always the case with the Market, there will be plenty of food and fun on tap during the day.

For the month of July, we’ve been collecting books and magazines for our new lending library. Since July is almost over, this is our last ditch effort! We are asking for any of your old books/magazines with subjects such as:

home improvement
gardening
outdoor projects (green houses/decks etc)
green technologies
architecture
sustainability
community building
activism
urban issues
farming
building houses
canning (foods)
tool safety/use
landscaping
inspiring biography
Buffalo history

but please, no sappy romances.
Donators get a 10% coupon!

Books can be dropped off at 298 Northampton St BFLO 14208
any time Tues-Sat 8-6pm or Sun 10-4pm. THANKS!!

. . . where this town is, but it sounds like fun!

Jeremy Royce, traveling the country in a borrowed van and sleeping on top of his video equipment, released his video about Buffalo ReUse (among other things) on YouTube.

Looks like Michael’s shower was broke, or he was using Drano for shampoo . . . but we think it’s a cool short film, and Jeremy’s to be commended for his relentlessly positive endeavor.

Jeremy’s Exit Pictures is here. His YouTube site is here.

ReTree WNY, partnered with the City of Buffalo, is once again providing FREE TREES and planting supplies to all who are interested. We at ReUse are very interested, and we hope you are too!

Trees are a valuable resource to our City: they add beauty and charm to our streets, increase the value of nearby properties, and provide shade that decreases energy costs for homes.

The total loss of trees on public land (streets and parks) in the City of Buffalo after the October Storm was estimated at 8,400. Between the efforts of the Olmsted Parks Conservancy, the Green Fund, Re-Tree WNY and all of the volunteers that have helped these organizations, together we have planted just over 6,000 trees in the City of Buffalo!

And we’re not done yet…Re-Tree WNY has opened the reservation site to start planning  the Fall tree planting. You can volunteer to plant with us at ReUse, or you can get your own group together and register. You must plant within the public right-of-way, which means between the sidewalk and street curb as well as non-Olmsted parks in neighborhoods.

The Fall Tree Planting will take place November 7th and 8th.

To plant with us, email volunteer {at} buffaloreuse(.)org.

To register your own group, click here. You will be able to access the tree-planting database, which tells you what sites in your area have been pre-approved to plant and you can also reserve where you would like to plant a tree.  To take it a step further, you can even decide which type of tree you would like to have planted.  All trees must be reserved by September 4th.

Hello all! Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Rachel Mathews, and I am the new Volunteer Coordinator here at Buffalo ReUse. I graduated from Fordham University this past May, with a BA in Political Science and Peace & Justice Studies. As a student, I worked in Fordham’s Community Service Program, organizing and assisting volunteers, creating programs and events, and maintaining the office.  Now, I am happy to be back in my hometown, where I will be working with ReUse for a year as an Americorps member. Eventually, I’d like to attend law school, and continue to work toward improving the city that I love.

I would like to encourage everyone and anyone to volunteer with Buffalo ReUse! We are very flexible, and we appreciate any help we can get. We have a variety of tasks that need some workin’ on, so depending on your interests and skills, we can match you up with an appropriate job. If you are unsure about your commitment and want to test us out once or twice first, no prob.

If volunteering is hard to fit in the schedule, please at least stop by our store The ReSource to check out the cool stuff we have! And spread the good word, if you’d be so kind.

Feel free to shoot me any emails….about volunteering, ReUse, life… volunteer {at} buffaloreuse(.)org.

Hope to see you around!

Our intrepid ReSource Organizer, Ian MacDonald, has turned his mighty eye to our lighting section. We moved some recently-acquired display cases (thanks, Reenie!) to the lighting aisle and Ian started sorting, hanging and just general good organizing.

Now it’s much easier to find what you’re looking for. Lighting from up above is good, too. Probably most important is we can get the chandeliers off the floor and stop stepping on them . . .

The Wolskis welcome you to their oasis in Colden, NY. Bill and Melanie have created a show house of reused materials, many purchased from Buffalo ReUse. “It’s strange to remember that they first bought materials while we were still in our little warehouse on Ellicott Street–back when we were only open one day a week,” mentioned Kevin Hayes. Even Michael remembers hearing the oohs and aahhs as the couple walked around that little cramped space imagining a new place for the porcelain utility sink and several very charming windows. Melanie bought a red door–still complete with its original knocker, numbers and even the mail slot–now it’s the door for their guest bathroom! They also mixed in some old spindles with new ones to add character to their staircase. Bill and Melanie bought some flooring and an apron tub from the tub & sink yard and refurbished both so well that you’d never guess the materials came from abandoned houses. The Wolski’s worked with local carpenters, Bruce and Mary Beyer of The Woodbutcher’s Shop to transform some beat up display bases into a new fireplace mantel. However, the most unique feature is probably their kitchen island which Bruce created using pieces of bowling alley floor that was available at the ReSource and contemporary fixtures.
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