Update on our Youth Committee

A Deron student watches closely as his instructor shows the correct placement of a daffodil bulb.

From Committee Chair Jacoba Coes ―

We all joined the Garden Club because we believe in its 100-year-long mission to spread the joy of gardening and creating beauty with plants and flowers. The Youth Committee is well positioned to promote that goal by involving the next generation in garden projects and art with nature.  Our mission ― ignite a life-long passion for gardening!

Our 2025-26 year started with events at Van Vleck, sparked by Donna Karanja’s and Suzy Straten’s outreach to Van Vleck. (See the pictures, below, with photos from the other events described in this post.) On a hot day in October we participated in Sensory Day when we created tissue flowers to provide an activity suitable for all ages. In November we participated in Van Vleck's Art and Nature Day with a tree silhouette inviting children of all ages to use glue, leaves and tissue paper to decorate. Both events were hits!

In October we planted bulbs, a long tradition of the Club. Our long-time partners, the YMCA and Mountainside Hospital, will glow this spring with the beauty of tulips planted by eager groups from MHS and Deron, lead by our team. This was a rewarding experience for all of us and for the students; we can’t wait to do it all over again next year!

We also, for the first time, planted daffodils at Sawtelle Learning Center with a group of students who had not been exposed to gardening before. The pride these youths took in getting bulbs into the ground was heartwarming and, according to the school faculty, they talked about it for weeks afterwards. We cannot wait to hear about their reactions to the flowers when they appear!

In January we continued to focus on planting for the future, this time by conducting winter sowing workshops. At Hillside School we co-hosted a winter seed-sowing program with Master Gardeners of Essex County. Science teacher Susan Bartol showed a slideshow on how native perennials grow from seed and the classes examined a variety of seeds. We taught and facilitated sowing seeds in plastic baggies that are now sitting outside in the garden, awaiting spring. All in all, three classes of 3rd, 4th, and 5th graders planted 25 baggies of natives. We hope that our efforts provide many plants for the new native plant garden.

At Sawtelle Learning Center we held a garden brainstorming session and winter sowing training with teachers. This will allow the seed activity to be conducted in multiple classes with students working one on one with their counselors. We reviewed planting out locations for the winter sowing including one next to their daffodils. A steep slope recently cleared of vines and saplings will be seeded after last frost with California poppy, partridge pea, nasturtium, and zinnia seeds provided by our Club. We will come back to support their efforts and do a train-the-teacher workshop on planting out. 

Our next event will be on April 20 to train Sawtelle instructors on creating aroma jars for Mother’s Day gifts. This will be rolled out to classes during their art time, and, as with winter sowing, we will occasionally, as requested, mentor instructors with their classes.

This is a good year.