Rain barrels, composters and Nigerian goats

For the past three months, the 27 Nigerian dwarf goats that call the Town of Hempstead’s Norman J. Levy Park and Preserve in Merrick home have been drinking water from a rainwater-collection barrel when they reach the top of “Mount Merrick,” the 100-foot-high, tree-covered hill in the center of the park that was once a landfill.

Park rangers installed the rainwater barrel atop the hill as part of a program that the town is embarking on to encourage the use of the barrels by town residents.

On Thursday, Hempstead Supervisor Kate Murray, a Republican from Levittown, held a news conference at the foot of Mount Merrick to announce that Hempstead is making the rain barrels and composters available to town residents at less than half of retail prices. The herd of goats meandered by, headed to the top of the hill, as Murray spoke.

The supervisor said that some 2,000 residents, whom she called “eco-heroes,” have pre-registered for the program, which is now available on a first-come, first-served basis to all town residents, while supplies last.

“I am excited that our township has almost 2,000 home-grown ‘eco-heroes’ who are committed to making our planet a healthier place for our families and future generations,” Murray said. “Our eco-heroes will be conserving tap water by using rain barrels for gardening, and composting will decrease materials entering the waste stream while reducing the need for purchased soil additives for gardeners.”

Murray noted that the composters will help reduce greenhouse-gas emissions, because soil additives will not have to be shipped from far-off places to area stores and then local homes, minimizing carbon-dioxide emissions from trucks and cars. Human-produced greenhouse gases are the primary driver of climate change, otherwise known as global warming, according to the United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, which comprises more than 2,000 climatologists and other scientists from around the world.