Written by Krista George 
Past Webinar: Community Gardens as Community Builders
Wednesday, June 12th, from 12:00 p.m. to 1:30 p.m.
Community Gardens as Community Builders
Join us on Wednesday, June 12th from 12:00-1:30 to hear how community gardens are encouraging people of all ages and abilities to join their friends and neighbors in the community garden.
There has been an explosive growth of interest in community gardening throughout our region. Simply working in soil makes for a happier life. People are motivated by the desire to feed and nurture their families and friends, help neighbors struggling with food security, and connect with other people in the community. Developing a community garden requires more than just the physical infrastructure of the gardens – raised beds, water systems, fencing. It requires building the community of the garden—engaging residents and developing leadership. Join us to hear proven strategies that community organizers have used to create strong community gardening programs with older residents in northern New England.
Presenters
Megan Humphrey, Executive Director, HANDS (Helping and Nurturing Diverse Seniors), Vermont
Kelley Strout, Assistant Professor School of Nursing, University of Maine, Orono, Project GROW
Susan Harris, Resident Service Coordinator, Stewart Property Management
Really looking forward to this webinar. In my role as Director of Programs and Services, I oversee our Community Gardens program. Since it’s inception 3 years ago, our Community Garden Coordinator has helped our senior, disabled and work-able families establish 66 gardens (and growing) across 9 properties owned and/or managed by Keene Housing.
Our Senior and disable Resident Service Coordinator frequently partners with our Community Garden Coordinator to create educational, meaningful, and engaging health and wellness programs. The most recent, a 4-week program in collaboration with UNH-Cooperative Extension on healthy eating and meal preparation using a microwave. Why a microwave? We found through talking with our residents that most prepare their meals using a microwave vs. stove top/oven.
Again, looking forward to the webinar and take-aways to apply our Community Garden Program.
Hi Denise. We are happy to hear that you are looking forward to the webinar tomorrow and excited that you’ll be joining us! Thank you for sharing more about your recent program – what a great idea! We welcome you to share your comments during the question and answer section of the webinar tomorrow as well. We love when people share their great ideas like this with the community! Thanks again – we’ll “see” you tomorrow!
I found the webinar to be most interesting and would love to hear about any follow-ups!
Hi Sharon. Thank you for joining us for the conversation yesterday – we are thrilled to hear you enjoyed the webinar! Stayed tuned for more webinars coming soon!