Bloomington Offers Opportunity to Educate Children on Gardening and Healthy Eating

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 23, 2012

For more information, please contact:
Nancy Woolery, Health Projects Coordinator, City of Bloomington Department of Community and Family Resources, 349.3851 or wooleryn@bloomington.in.gov.
Vernon Archer, Professor of Biology, Indiana University, 856.0369 or varcher@indiana.edu.

Bloomington Offers Opportunity to Educate Children on Gardening and Healthy Eating

Bloomington, IN - The City of Bloomington Commission on the Status of Black Males is seeking children who are interested in summer gardening. Vernon Archer, a professor in the Department of Biology at Indiana University, will provide instruction on gardening.

The purpose of the garden project is to teach children ages 6 to 10 about gardening and how to grow and eat healthy foods, since many children gain weight over the summer due to inactivity and poor eating habits. Activities include a field trip to IU's Jordan Hall Greenhouse, an entomology component about insects and how they can help or hurt a garden, the opportunity to plant and harvest crops and a nutritional education program.

Garden plots are reserved at Willie Streeter Community Gardens, 2120 S. Highland Ave. The classes will be held in the Willie Streeter Shelter House. Children interested in the program should be able to participate most Saturdays from May 5 through Aug. 26 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Parents will need to provide transportation to and from the Community Gardens. There is no cost to this program, and all materials and supplies for students will be provided.

The garden project is sponsored by the Commission on the Status of Black Males, City of Bloomington Community and Family Resources Department, Indiana University and the Monroe County Community School Corporation.

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