LIVINGSTON MANOR, NY — Sullivan 180, along with educators, farmers and advocates for hands-on garden education, gathered for the annual fall Catskill Edible Garden Project (CEGP) garden coordinator meeting recently at Gael Roots Community Farm.

The CEGP, a collaboration between Sullivan 180, Catskill Mountainkeeper and Cornell Cooperative Extension, works with schools, day cares and youth-focused nonprofits to design edible gardens as outdoor educational and gathering spaces. Through the project, young people gain hands-on experience growing their own food while working as a team outdoors.

Garden coordinators, as well as representatives from Sullivan 180, Cornell Cooperative Extension and Catskill Mountainkeeper, marked the accomplishments of the season and looked forward to future opportunities. Iris Fen Gillingham of Gael Roots Community Farm, for example, focuses on offering educational farm opportunities for community members of all ages. This includes youth field trips and high school internships on the farm.

Nicole Rasnick, one of the garden coordinators for Rockland Elementary School, said, “It’s little moments like these—a gathering of gardeners at a beautiful farm discussing ways to teach kids to garden, a gaggle of third graders picking garden soup—moments that make me love the opportunity to work with Sullivan 180.”

The next Catskill Edible Garden Project grant cycle opens on November 15, and applications can be found at sullivan180.org. Each site that participates in CEGP, including 13 schools, one day care center, and one community garden, has a garden coordinator as a point person to lead activities. 

October was National Farm-to-School Month. Planned activities included installing new edible school gardens and coordinating local chefs as guests for interactive cooking lessons with local produce in classrooms. Several schools, such as Sullivan West Elementary, celebrate a Farm-to-School Day or the Big Apple Crunch, coordinated by Cornell Cooperative Extension.

For more information about how to get involved with the Catskill Edible Garden Project, email Eva Bednar at eva@sullivan180.org.