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At an awards dinner at the Mount Kisco Child Care Center on February 24, Bedford Audubon’s Executive Director Jim Nordgren, on behalf of the organization, received a check for $210 in recognition of BAS’s efforts to promote local, organic gardening.
Farmers markets have become increasingly popular around Westchester, but the farmers markets that are held at the Mount Kisco Child Care Center 6–8 times a year are indeed special. In the “Feed Me Fresh” program, which runs from spring into November, the children grow all the fruits, vegetables and herbs in their edible school yard garden. They then help sell the products to raise money for seed and for donations to an organization in need or to a group that has made a contribution to the community. This year, Mount Kisco Child Care Center chose to recognize the Bedford Audubon Society, which donated all the produce—an impressive 200 pounds—harvested from its pesticide-free, bird-friendly vegetable garden to the Community Center of Northern Westchester.
“We are honored to receive this recognition,” says Bedford Audubon’s Executive Director, Jim Nordgren, who together with Master Gardeners and the non-profit group InterGenerate took the initiative to establish the vegetable garden at its Bylane Farm in Goldens Bridge in the spring of 2009. In previous years, the Center has donated proceeds to victims of Hurricane Katrina and the earthquake in Kashmir. This year it decided to recognize a local organization.
Mount Kisco Child Care Center, founded in 1971, emphasizes cultural and ethnic diversity as well as interaction between children and seniors—50 seniors come to the Center on a regular basis—a concept that has proven vital in establishing a social bond between different age groups benefiting both.
The “Feed Me Fresh” program teaches children to appreciate fresh, healthy food from an early age and the hard work required to grow your own vegetables. With the alarming increase in both adult and childhood obesity over the last decade, the benefit of establishing healthy eating habits at an early age cannot be overstated. On a wider scale, all locally grown produce contribute to curtailing greenhouse gas emissions by reducing transportation from grower to consumer.
In an excellent example of how Audubon chapters can extend their science and education outreach, three members of Bedford Audubon helped coach six high school students from New Rochelle, Fox Lane and John Jay High Schools prior to their participation in the Lower Hudson Valley Regional Science Olympiad competition.
The BAS coaches, consisting of BAS naturalist Tait Johansson, BAS hawk counter Arthur Green, and BAS Executive Director Jim Nordgren, held two coaching sessions with the students in ornithology, one of the events in this year’s Science Olympiad competition. In the regional competition held at Byram Hills High School on Saturday, February 13, 2010, New Rochelle High School’s A Team placed first and John Jay High School’s A team placed second both in the Ornithology event and in the overall competition. Fox Lane placed 10th in the Ornithology event, but will not move on to the State competition
Both the BAS and New Rochelle and John Jay team coaches as well as the students themselves felt they had benefited greatly from the sessions. New York State Science Olympiad Director Harold Miller was very pleased that BAS took the initiative to help the Science Olympiad students.
The New York State Science Olympiad competition will be held on March 19 and 20,
at the United States Military Academy at West Point. New Rochelle, John Jay,
Ardsley, Byram Hills, and Scarsdale High Schools will all compete against 48
other teams.
Another science competition, the Envirothon, will be held on April 30.
The Rusticus Garden Club is now accepting applications from enrolled college and graduate students for for the new environmental internship position available at Bedford Audubon. Application deadline is April 1, 2010.
Internship Highlights:
Take a leadership role in educating the public about sustainability.
Learn from experienced horticulturalists and environmental educators
The program work schedule is June - August 2010.
Specific hours/weeks are flexible; minimum of eight (8) weeks is required.
Student will receive a $1,000 Grant from Rusticus Garden Club.
On-site housing will be provided in a restored farmhouse just 40 miles from New York City.
Student may want additional transportation; train service is one mile from site.
Click here for more information and to download an application form.
Copyright © 2002-2010 Bedford Audubon Society
