• Growing Healthy Communities Through Food and Gardening

    Cornell Cooperative Extension of Nassau County (CCE-Nassau) and the Land Alliance have teamed up to provide health and wellness programs in partnership with the Land Alliance Roosevelt Community Garden. “We are really excited about this partnership. There is a mountain of research supporting the positive impact that community gardens can have on health and well-being,” says Gregory Sandor, Executive Director of CCE-Nassau. In fact, several studies have shown that engaging with community gardens increases the availability and overall consumption of fresh fruits and vegetables among participants. CCE-Nassau’s Master Gardener, Audrey Thomas, of Roosevelt elaborates, “If you want to eat healthy, you should know the benefits of having fresh vegetables and know how to grow them.” When paired with nutrition education and programming, the impact increases dramatically. Beth Labelson, Registered Dietitian and Nutrition Educator with CCE-Nassau explains, “We see real behavior change among participants in our health and wellness programs. Not only does fruit and vegetable consumption increase among participants, but we also see improved healthy food choices, a willingness to try new foods and an improved awareness about the connections between good health and food.” Teen wellness program in Roosevelt Community Garden called Fuel for Success led by medical students from Hofstra University To this end, CCE-Nassau and the Land Alliance launched a teen wellness program in Roosevelt Community Garden called Fuel for Success. CCE-Nassau’s summer interns, pre-med students from Hofstra University, designed and developed a curriculum geared towards nutrition and fitness as a foundation for health. The students not only engaged participants in fun activities but also incorporated the garden in a recipe demonstration and tasting. “We cannot overstate the impact that community garden-based programs can have on obesity prevention among kids,” continues Labelson. “As we move into the winter months, we hope the partnership will shift to indoor spaces so we don’t lose the momentum we have created.” In fact, the partnership will move indoors to Roosevelt Public Library in October with the launch of Dining With Diabetes. This program pairs education about diabetes self-management with hands-on cooking demonstrations and recipe tasting. The incorporation of culinary skills and recipe tasting into the series has shown an impact beyond that of traditional diabetes education programs. Furthermore, information about participating in community and/or home gardening is woven into the fabric of the curriculum. Conserving our land and connecting people to it is fundamental in supporting the health and well-being of our communities. The interconnection among creating sustainable food systems, promoting land conservation, being stewards of the environment and using nature as an intervention strategy is increasingly being recognized as vital to improving social, emotional, and physical health and well-being. Dining with Diabetes Program in Partnership with CCE-Nassau, Roosevelt Public Library, Roosevelt PTSARecipe Tastings and Vegetable giveawayCooking Demonstrations


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  • Senator Kevin Thomas visits the Roosevelt Community Garden for Earth Day

    6th Annual Earth Day at the Roosevelt Community Garden

    Nearly 100 volunteers gathered at the Roosevelt Community Garden on Saturday, April 22nd to take part in our 6th Annual Earth Day event. We want to express our sincere thanks to all those who joined us in this year’s celebration. Your involvement had a remarkable effect on our community garden and surroundings, and it helped us prepare for our annual planting day in May. We are grateful for Senator Kevin Thomas’s presence at our garden and his willingness to learn more about us.


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  • Roosevelt Community Garden 2022

    Season Five at Our Community Garden Wrapped Up

    Our Roosevelt Community Garden in the Town of Hempstead is gaining momentum and receiving much deserved attention since its inception in 2018. The Garden has become an avenue for adults and children to work together to grow fresh wholesome food while learning about agriculture, biodiversity and appreciation of the outdoors. The lessons of the Garden also deepen the connection between protecting our land, air and water and our health. With the help of our partners, each year we provide a series of educational programs and activities for seasonal gardeners and all residents in the County. Here’s a summary of our 2022 activities: Educational Programs Our monthly gardening workshops, facilitated by Master Gardeners from Cornell Cooperative Extension of Nassau County, provided information to those interested in gardening, horticulture and related topics. We hosted seven workshops, which included a square foot gardening demonstration, succession planting talk and Garden to Table: How to Prepare to Grow presentation. Our aim was to support gardeners by teaching them how to start and maintain a vegetable garden in small spaces, care for their crops and soil and get more produce throughout the season. Family and Community Engagement This year, 41 families secured a raised garden plot for the 2022 gardening season, of which 10 were new. We kick-started the season with our annual Earth Day program. It was attended by more than 80 participants who took action to help their environment. During the summer we hosted Paint Night in the Garden to get more people outdoors and reduce stress, followed by our fall Dinner in the Open Air to celebrate another successful growing season. Young Explorers Program This season, more than 50 young botanists and future conservation stewards from Roosevelt and surrounding communities visited the Garden to do more than grow flowers, vegetables and herbs. The Land Alliance Young Explorers program provides a pathway for children, ages 4-17, and their families to engage with nature, learn about wildlife and the ecosystems they need to survive as well as how to improve their own health. We also had the pleasure of hosting students from the Roosevelt Prevention Coalition. They visited the Garden each month to connect with nature and find ways to cope with stress. Community service opportunities were also available for high school students. We hope to see many of these students and their families again next year so we can continue to cultivate a love of nature. Volunteers Engagement and commitment from volunteers is vital to the sustainability of the Garden. We are so grateful to all our volunteers for their immeasurably valuable work including leading educational programs, planting and harvesting crops, weeding, spreading woodchips and organizing social events. Our achievements have been made possible thanks to the many partners who have helped us over the last five years: Cornell Cooperative Extension – Nassau County Master Gardeners Roosevelt Public Library Unitarian Universalist Congregation at Shelter Rock Social Justice Committee One World Girl, Inc Hofstra University Department of Geology, Environment and Sustainability Bank of America Associates in Nassau County Girl Scout Troop #4703 Volunteers for Wildlife Roosevelt Prevention Coalition sponsored by Family and Children’s Services We welcome new partners from schools, civic organizations and local businesses. For more information, please contact Andrea Millwood at [email protected] or 516-922-1028.


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  • Season Five Has Begun at the Roosevelt Community Garden

    We are pleased to kick-start the fifth growing season at the Roosevelt Community Garden. This year we are partnering with new organizations, hosting more activities and educating more people. Our overarching goal is to help connect more youth to nature and better understand their role in protecting our environment. Annual Garden Members’ Orientation and Garden-to-Table Presentation On Saturday, March 19th, we hosted an educational presentation led by Master Gardener Charlie Kemnitzer at the Roosevelt Public Library. Participants learned how to start a vegetable garden and maintain their raised-garden plots and tips to care for their crops in a sustainable and healthy manner. Earth Day Celebration On Saturday, April 23rd, more than 50 volunteers and garden members participated in our Annual Earth Day event. Together we accomplished a lot, from removing debris and weeds to refilling plots with soil and replacing garden hoses in preparation for our annual Planting Day in May. We are grateful for all our volunteers, especially our newest friends from Bank of America, Girl Scout Troop #4703 and Rojah Peck. Special thanks to Claire DeRoche, Barry Nobel and other members of the Unitarian Universalist Congregation at Shelter Rock, who started volunteering last year, and to Bagel Chalet of Merrick for donating bagels for our breakfast. Members from the Universality Unitarian Congregation at Shelter Rock Bank of America Staff Annual Planting Day and Square Foot Gardening Demonstration On Saturday, May 21st more than 80 people, including Garden members, volunteers and visitors from throughout Nassau County, joined us to learn how to grow food using the Square Foot Gardening method. After the presentation led by Master Gardener Reese Michaels, Garden members and youth from the Roosevelt Prevention Coalition Roots Club and Girl Scout Troop #4703 worked together to plant vegetables and fruits. It was a pleasure to work alongside these students and watch them learn to grow their own food. Healthy food makes for more productive and healthier students! One World Girl Prosperity Project We were also pleased to work with the One World Girl organization again this year on their Prosperity Project. This awesome group of young people planted native wildflowers and shrubs throughout the Garden to help attract beneficial insects, create a stopping place for Monarch butterflies and provide food for birds. We hope to attract some new species for our pollinator project in June. Special thanks to Atlantic Nursery in Freeport and Long Island Natives for donating a portion of the plants. One World Girl Volunteers at the Roosevelt Community Garden


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  • Roosevelt Community Garden

    Fourth Season at the Roosevelt Community Garden

    The Roosevelt Community Garden celebrated its fourth year on April 1, 2021.  The Garden has become more than just a place to grow organic fruits, vegetables and herbs; it also is a place for gardeners to come together, to share and learn from each other. Situated in the hamlet of Roosevelt on a 10,000 square foot lot, the Garden boasts 49 raised garden beds, a garden library, picnic tables and two tool sheds. It’s open from sunrise until sunset April until November. During the growing season, gardeners and volunteers join forces to plant, weed, water and grow a variety of crops. They share in the bountiful harvest and grow food to share with community members in need. During these difficult times, the Garden is also helping to fight food insecurity. This was the original idea for the garden, but that notion became much more critical throughout the weeks and months of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Garden has created a sense of community. Neighbors are working together, getting to know one another, caring for each other, building new kinds of relationships and creating a more unified community. Many thanks to Nassau County for making this opportunity available to the community. Special thanks to the volunteer Master Gardeners from Cornell Cooperative Extension of Nassau County for leading many of our educational programs in person or online. Their lifelong love of gardening and agricultural expertise continues to be an invaluable resource for the Garden and its members. To volunteer or for more information about the Garden, please contact Andrea Millwood at [email protected]. More information about the Garden can be found online at www.northshorelandalliance.org/rcg. Special Thanks to Edrington Brands for Supporting the Roosevelt Community Garden We are most grateful to Marc Bromfeld and Edrington Brands for their generous $10,000 donation to help enhance our Garden and ensure that it is sustainable for another year. This spring, a wooden gazebo with aluminum roof was installed to create a more comfortable seating area for Garden members and volunteers to socialize and for educational programs. The gazebo will also bring warmth and character to the garden and provide shade for those working in the summer heat. A portion of the proceeds will also be set aside for programs in 2022. We hope the community finds great enjoyment in the space provided. Special thanks to Jill DeGroff, one of the first individuals to sign up to volunteer at the Garden in 2018, for spearheading this donation. We are most appreciative and grateful for her support.


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