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GROWING AND LEARNING
Master Gardeners, YMCA team up on community garden By ALLISON SELK news@kendallcountynow.com
F
ive University of Illinois Kendall County Extension Master Gardeners took 80 spring break campers under their wing to plant a variety of vegetables in peat pots March 29 at the Fox Valley Family YMCA in Plano. The YMCA and the U of I Extension office partnered on a community garden project, that morning being the ground-breaking ceremony where the children who attended the spring break camp, YMCA staff and administration, and master gardeners came together to unveil the design of the garden, and have the children plant seeds to start the growing process. “We can’t wait for the weather to change so we can get outside and plant our plants in the ground,” Fox Valley Family YMCA Marketing Director Sarah Elbert said. Andrew Bobbitt, Fox Valley Family YMCA CEO, said the idea of a garden had been on the back burner for a couple of years, but was not a great option until the U of I Extension came into play. “This makes a lot of sense because we have the space available, and it offers a teachable opportunity for the kids and their families,” Bobbitt said. “It also shows them the responsibility to help support and feed our neighbors in the community in which we live.” Master gardener Connie Hatter offered her experience to the YMCA staff and brought other master gardeners in for the event to help teach the children gardening terms, things to do in the garden at the YMCA or at home, and how to read the seed packages and plant. She knows in this era, electronics can take a front seat, but she said she has seen a turnaround in people wanting to get back to basics. Photo provided
See COMMUNITY GARDEN, page 6
Spring break participants were excited about planting seeds for the new community garden at the Fox Valley Family YMCA in Plano.