NAVESINK – Hope Hanlon and Laurie Brekke, members of the Navesink Garden Club, will speak on Friday, Sept. 20, at TED at Brookdale Community College in Lincroft.
Hanlon and Brekke formed GoSprouts.org, a nonprofit organization, in 2010 to bring garden-based education and its assets to Atlantic Highlands Elementary School (AHES) as well as the greater community.
They will talk about their experiences to start the nonprofit at the TED conference. TED’s goal is to bring innovative world-leading talks to Monmouth County in an all-day live event that inspires people to learn and think about the future of our home on the shore.
TED (Technology, Entertainment, Design) is a nonprofit devoted to “Ideas Worth Spreading,” and is often known as the California Think Tanks. Past presenters included Bill Gates, Bill Clinton, Al Gore and many Nobel Prize winners. (For more information about the event, visit tedxnavesink.com. For more information about TED, visit www.TED.com.)
Hanlon and Brekke’s newest garden project is located at Ocean Avenue Elementary School (OAES) in Middletown, which was heavily impact by loss due to Super Storm Sandy, and suffered severe economic hardship.
The women’s overall mission has been to use garden-based education to help children discover connections between health, nature and the environment; foster a lifelong awareness of sustainability and nutrition; instill a deep sense of teamwork; and accomplishment, empowerment and civic responsibility by simply weaving hands-on learning into an outdoor setting.
All produce grown in the garden that is not used for learning purposes is donated to the Food Pantry and volunteers work with the students and their families on that aspect.
The Navesink Garden Club monthly meetings will resume on Tuesday, Sept. 17. The free meetings, open to the public, are held the third Tuesday of the month at The Atrium, 40 Riverside Ave., Red Bank. A small standard flower show, called Beach Music, will be featured during the first fall meeting.
During the summer several club members have been involved in a tomato and pepper trial, featuring grafted and nongrafted specimen. They have observed weather tolerance, disease resistance, ease of growing, vigor and yield of the plants and will reported their experiences at the September meeting. At last report, all are doing well.
The Navesink Garden Club is a member of The Garden Club of New Jersey, Inc. and the Central Atlantic Region of National Garden Clubs, Inc. Members come from all over the Two River area, as well as Manalapan, Elberon and Brick.
Additional information about Navesink Garden Club and programs is available by contacting the membership chair, Judy Alberse, at 732-708-1023 or judinks@comcast.net and by visiting the club website at www.navesinkgardenclub.org.
