Sunday, November 15, 2026
Community members will come together to compost and plant garlic for Orkestai Farm’s final community day of the season. The nonprofit on the grounds of Planting Fields Arboretum is collaborating with other local environmental activists to compost pumpkins from this fall.
Orkestai is a no-till organic community farm founded in 2014. Its mission is to support creative participation in society and create an inclusive environment. One of its programs is the Organic Growers Course where staff works primarily with neurodivergent adults, teaching them about farming. Community days include farming activities open to the community at large.
“In the last couple of years, or three years almost,” said Alethea Vasilas, co-director and co-founder of Orkestai Farm, “we have several different groups, all of a sudden, that have been super interested in composting.”
Vasilas explained that the Science Museum of Long Island was the first entity to reach out about composting pumpkins. The museum hosts an annual pumpkin smash and asked if pumpkins could then be composted at the farm.
Pumpkin composting has now become a part of community day. The compost produced will be used at Orkestai.
“People can also participate, not just in the drop-off, but they can actually come be embodied, help turn the pumpkins into the compost,” Vasilas said, “and they can learn something along the way as well as connect to what the meaning is of composting or treating the Earth well.”
Sea Cliff resident Laura Russo started collecting pumpkins to be composted last year at Campground Craft Beer & Coffee after one of the owners offered her the opportunity. Campground also serves as a drop-off spot for participating families to bring their buckets in the community composting program in Sea Cliff.
Collection began just after Halloween. According to Russo, between 50 and 60 pumpkins have been collected this year.
“It’s actually very functional because the pumpkins are going to Orkestai,” Russo said, “and Orkestai needs compost for their fruits and vegetables and flowers that they grow.” She added that it keeps pumpkins out of the regular waste stream and prevents them from potentially ending up in a landfill.
Vasilas said that the goal is to remember humanity’s interconnected nature with the planet and to come together to improve the environment.
“Also just the mechanics of getting foodstuffs out of the waste system,” she added, “and instead of creating all of these mountains of garbage, this is new life in some way coming from all of this decomposition, and I think it gives people a sense of hope.”
Orkestai’s final community day of the season is Nov. 14. Pumpkin collection will continue at Campground until after Thanksgiving to be composted at Nassau County Soil and Water District.
If pumpkins need to be picked up to be brought to Campground, residents can email CCinSeaCliff@gmail.com.
