Our Story: Ripe but Humble Seedlings
It is an outgrowth of a mid-winter meeting between a member of Ossining's Green Committee and a Dominican Sister who were talking about trees and barns and art and the plight of the earth and people.
The Green Community Garden of Hope (GCGH) seeks to promote greater well-being for Planet earth and its inhabitants both large and small. The Garden confronts an ever-growing sense of food insecurity, as well as the need to engage people in productive means towards greater self-sufficiency.
On the grounds of Mariandale’s Retreat and Conference Center off Route 9 in Ossining-on-the-Hudson, it will provide area residents with the opportunity for personal growth and social connectedness through hands-on work and artistry that gardening demands.
GCGH will benefit folks aged 3-93: Tots from the daycare center just up the hill, upper elementary school kids and teens from the two schools a mile and a half away, the Dominican Sisters of Hope, and those in their ministry, adults and their families served by the local food pantry as well as those purchasing a plot of their own, who can easily come by walking or biking in along the aqueduct trail, and by bus as well.
GCGH will be a type of Commons, where people of all walks of life will come together to explore new directions for growth, whether of self, plant, or community. The Garden’s success will become a source of community pride and spirit, a source for social capital and possibly, enterprise.
The plot of land Mariandale has dedicated for this purpose is in dire need of fencing, compost, a tool shed and tools, water cisterns, and given its poor drainage, materials with which to construct raised beds.
It is our hope to use this season to demonstrate what can be done despite limited resources when there is will.
We hope you will consider joining us or contributing to our “seeds and water” campaign! We ask, what better to contribute to than a “growth industry” such as this?
Let us know of your interest! We would be happy to tour you of this year’s site, and what our vision is for future years.
Andrea Kimmich-keyser Regina Blakeslee Sister Nancy Erts Sister Bette Ann Jaster
Program & Curriculum Specialist Master Gardener & Beekeeper Dominican Sister of Hope Dominican Sister of Hope
Our Green Community Garden of Hope
Mariandale Retreat & Conference Center
299 North Highland Avenue • Ossining • Westchester County • New York 10562 • 914-941-4455 est. 119
Http://GCGH.weebly.com
GCGH@live.com
