The Genesis Center Garden Kick-Off and Resources for Creating a Garden with your Child
posted: 06.03.2015 by Kristen Caine
On May 7, 2015, five BrightStars staff members participated in the Genesis Center Garden Kick-Off to clean up the garden and start planting for the 2015 growing season. Quality Improvement Specialists Elena Vasquez, Dilcia Perdomo, Marinel Russo, Kristen Caine and Program and Data Assistant Sizer Avila helped with raking and preparing the gardens for planting of herbs and vegetables. The Genesis Center will then use the vegetation in their Culinary Arts programs and food for youngsters in their early learning programs.
The Center’ s mission is to “ provide the highest quality education, job training and support services to people of diverse cultures so they may achieve economic independence and participate fully in what society offers”. Some of the many programs they offer include: English For Speakers of Other Languages, an early learning program for up to 74 infants, toddlers and preschoolers, adult education, job skills, culinary arts, health care, job placement, case management and financial coaching. The Genesis Center was chosen by Vice President Biden as a “model program” on August 7, 2014.
Gardening together with your child is a great activity to do this summer. Planting and gardening will provide many learning opportunities such as counting, colors, benefits of fresh food and more. Below are some gardening resources to help you get started.
Resources
- Kids Gardening
www.kidsgardening.org - 4-H
http://www.4-h.org/ - Know Your Farmer Know Your Food Compass
http://www.usda.gov/wps/portal/usda/usdahome?navid=KYF_COMPASS - Locating a Farmer’s Market
http://search.ams.usda.gov/farmersmarkets/
