SULLIVAN COUNTY, NY — What could be more worthwhile to ensure that sustainability continues through generations than to educate young people about the wonders of healthy living, through local food that they grow themselves?

Eva Bednar has served as garden coordinator for the Catskill Edible Garden Project at Sullivan 180 over the last two years, working with schools and providing hands-on agricultural experiences. The work has been like the icing on a cake (one made of natural fruit, of course).

Begun in 2012, the project, a collaboration between Sullivan 180, Catskill Mountainkeeper and Cornell Cooperative Extension, provides funding, technical assistance, education and programming. It even hosts Chef in the Classroom events, in addition to trips to local farms. 

In that first year, a total of four gardens were created. In 2025, there were sixteen.

The way it works is that schools, daycares and eligible nonprofits can apply for a grant from $1,000 to $2,500 to build and maintain their nature creations. And even in winter, there is an indoor grow station, usually located in a classroom or near the school cafeteria. 

The nonprofit realm currently boasts the Tusten Heritage Community Garden. 

Eugene Thalmann of Catskill Mountainkeeper, a professional farmer, works with microgreens, which can sprout on a tray within a week and be eaten in a variety of ways, such as in a salad. (Note: The microgreens aren’t planted; they are eaten right off the tray! If students start seedlings, like tomatoes, then those would be planted.)

Want to try a different way of gardening? There are a wealth of options, depending on the season. For instance, you don’t have to plant in the earth; consider the use of raised beds for growing veggies, herbs and whatever else inspires the young gardeners. 

Typically, according to Bednar, in a school, a teacher is the lead garden coordinator because they know how to engage students. Perhaps there is no greater way to learn than by doing, and these gardens set the precedent.

Bednar also said that outdoor gardens require a fence given the predominance of all forms of Mother Nature around us in the Catskills. The one exception is when the school has the garden in a courtyard surrounded by walls on all sides.

There is no age restriction, and children as young as four or five become acquainted with all kinds of fresh veggies—the goal is for nutritious eating. This is particularly true when the garden foods make their way into the cafeteria.

Then there is cooking from scratch, which becomes a learned lesson, especially when a “Chef” visits the “Classroom.” For a true hands-on experience, youngsters are provided with fresh vegetables and a cutting board, with safety knives for children. At one school, for example, the chef provides potatoes already cut in half to make the job less arduous; after all, the goal is to make mashed potatoes a reality.

This aspect of Sullivan 180 is part of an initiative titled SNAC (School Nutrition Action Coalition), which was funded by a USDA grant in the past. 

As the garden coordinator, Bednar became totally immersed in what sounds more like fun than work. She recalls the first field trip with a first-grade class to Somewhere in Time, a farm in Parksville, where the children harvested carrots.

She cites students from the Cooke School in Monticello, particularly second graders, who became Nature Ambassadors and considered protectors of the environment, which conveys a sense of responsibility for any child.

The main focus, Bednar said, is having gardens at school that allow children to hopefully embrace them; in fact, she sees students begin to crave being “in the garden.” And these are youngsters who were too young to know the meaning of “Back to the Garden,” the memorable Woodstock song by Joni Mitchell that meant going back to a peaceful, natural and harmonious way of living. In fact, it continues to be promoted by Alan Gerry, the founder of Bethel Woods, which hosts a Fall Harvest Festival. That festival showcases and sells all varieties of vegetables, some of which might come from these very farmers in their schools.

Continuing this tradition, Bednar relates to the mental, physical and social wellness created by the Sullivan 180 programs and by the child who said, “the best part of my life is gardening.”

In short, the Sullivan County agricultural heritage is providing the next generation of food entrepreneurs, whether as farmers or those who might open restaurants that use what farmers provide. This outdoor education goes beyond the classroom, allowing young people to thrive in the garden and work together. 

Bednar said that children involved in this kind of life eat up to 2.5 more servings of fruit and veggies daily. What a great foundation for wellness!

As these children grow up, they will discover more fascinating experiences they might replicate, including a small-scale project in Ireland called Worldwide Opportunities on Organic Farms (WOOFING), which has created a place devoid of pesticides.

And they could do this thanks to people like Eva Bednar, who share their knowledge, so more parents and teachers will utilize nature for the benefit of everyone.

[Ed. note: Eva Bednar occasionally writes for the River Reporter.]