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(Millbrook, NY) On a beautiful afternoon at the Dutchess Community College (DCC) campus, the Green Teen Programs of Beacon and Poughkeepsie showcased the fruits, but more so the vegetables, of their labor with the Ribbon Cutting of the new Community Garden. Many supporters attended, including Dr. Peter Grant Jordan, President of DCC; Assemblymember Jonathan G. Jacobson; Brandon Gonzalez, Office of Congressman Pat Ryan; Dutchess County Executive Sue Serino, and Mayor of the City of Poughkeepsie, Yvonne Flowers.
After attendees toured the garden, Mary Lou Carolan, Executive Director of Cornell Cooperative Extension Dutchess County (CCEDC) welcomed all attendees and announced the speakers: Assemblymember Jacobson, County Executive Sue Serino, Mayor Flowers, and Dr. Jordan. Highlighting the event were two Green Teens, Elizabeth Soriano and David Benz, who shared their collective experience with the program and how they plan to share their knowledge with their community. Certificates of Recognition were awarded to CCEDC and DCC by Sue Serino, Mayor Flowers, and Pat Ryan’s office.
Assemblyman Jonathan Jacobson met Samantha Brittain, Green Teen Program Manager, at an event in Beacon a few years ago and was incredibly inspired by her team’s work with teens in Beacon. This meeting was the beginning of a meaningful partnership between the Cornell Cooperative Extension Dutchess County and Mr. Jacobson’s Office. A proposal to extend this program to the youth of the City of Poughkeepsie was made and Assemblyman Jacobson secured funding for the program’s Community Garden on the Dutchess Community College Campus. Lacie Reilly, President of the Board of Directors at CCEDC and Instructor & Program Chair Human Services Program Behavioral Sciences Department and Director of The Pantry at DCC, put the gears in motion for this wonderful collaboration.
Green Teen has served the Beacon community for twenty years through two programs: the work-to-learn youth employment program, where participants ages 14 to 18 are hired to plant and maintain the program’s garden on West Center St, and the recently developed Club Green Teen, an afterschool program for youth ages 12 to 14. Since 2020, Green Teen has also operated a free farm stand, in which all produce grown by the program is donated back to the community each summer. Green Teen expanded its program to Poughkeepsie in 2023.
The Community Garden space is 4,000 square feet with about 2,400 already tilled and utilized, with 210 square feet cultivated into raised beds. Planting began in May of this year with 480 tomato plants - 80 Sungold Cherry and 400 Jet Star Slicers. Additionally, these dedicated youth have planted over 80 summer squash, acorn squash, and zucchini, as well as 40 winter squash, Hubbard, and kombucha varieties. They’ve developed about 90 square feet rows each of kale, beets, greens, green beans, and lettuce, mustard greens, and radishes. In the past week alone, Green Teens have planted another 40 butternut squash and are delicately resetting the lettuce rows.
So far, over 130 pounds of lettuce, yellow squash, and green squash have been harvested. On July 19th, the group transported the produce to The Pantry at Dutchess Community College for access to anyone associated with the campus in need of food. Any produce that is not distributed at Dutchess Community College is moved to Dutchess Outreach or the Saint Thomas Episcopal Church Food Pantry in Amenia - all food is utilized!
Once the weather cools, another 1,000 square feet of land will be tilled to plant garlic and turnips for a winter harvest. Funds have been set aside to install a 50-foot greenhouse this winter, which will serve to teach hydroponic gardening to the teens, as well as improving the trellising system to optimize production.
Matt Shayley, one of the team leaders of the Green Teen Poughkeepsie Program reported that “it may appear that Green Teen started a little late in the season, but their robust harvests are just beginning to increase to 50 pounds more each week. By the end of summer, the tomato crop is expected to produce over 2,000 pounds from 480 plants.”
Would you like to learn more about this program? Please visit the website: https://ccedutchess.org/youth-4h or call Program Leader Jane Rodd at (845) 677-8223 ext. 105. You can also follow Green Teen Beacon on Facebook and Instagram: @greenteenbeacon and CCEDC @CCEdutchess.
Connection, Collaboration, Community: CCEDC. For information on all the services and initiatives provided, please visit their website: ccedutchess.org or by calling 845-677-8223.
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