Harvest Festival 2006

NEW YORK HARVEST FESTIVAL

October 6, 2006

BLOCK INSTITUTE BREAKS GROUND FOR THEIR NEW GREENHOUSE & DEDICATES THEIR NEW WHEELCHAIR ACCESSIBLE GARDEN

Once again, preparations began in the late spring on Earth Day. This year, with the help of a generous grant from Home Depot, we were able to install a small wheelchair accessible garden, allowing all of our students and adult participants access to the “gardens”.

Seeds of all varieties were planted in pots, containers and in the ground. Curricula revolved around the individual vegetables that we planted in our garden and everything about their nutritional value, where and how they are grown and how they can be eaten.

Physical and occupational therapists developed skills for planting. Associated craft activities and class/group room lessons encouraged students/participants to explore the textures of soil, water and leaves and to develop other external stimuli. Staff, students & adults weed, water and ultimately harvest their crops.

The Greenhouse Committee decided that the theme for this year’s festival would be the ground breaking for our new greenhouse. Our harvest would be used in lessons, numerous lunches and to make jars of "Block Basil Pesto”. In addition, all of the carrots and zucchini grown would go into baking a “healthy” muffin that was developed by our Director of Nutritional Services  - NY Garden Delite  Muffins.

The week before Harvest Day, all of the classes had baking lessons and made the muffin recipe for ingestion and distribution on the day of the festival.

October 6^th, 2006 was the big day!!

At a special assembly, the children, adults, staff and families were addressed by Commissioner Brennan from N.Y.S. Department of Ag. & Markets and Bethlene Pancoast, Miss New York 2006. Several groups of adult participants put on an exciting dance demonstration and two of our classes performed to the all-time favorite “Old MacDonald had a Farm”.

The remainder of the day was spent having fun and experiencing NY agriculture. Highlights included:

Hand Prints in Cement – Invited guests, members of our Board of Directors and some children, immortalized the “prints” to be included in the greenhouse construction.

 Cornell Cooperative Extension –  representatives from the NYC office offered a hands on demonstration on healthy dishes using NY apples. The kids all got to taste their “Healthy Apple Sauce” and the teacher were given lesson plans and materials to use.

Miss New York 2006 - (Bethlene Pancoast) posed for  pictures with all of the festival guests, signed autographs and helped the children appreciate the activities to  the fullest.

Live Animal Petting Zoo – a farm from Long Island brought a host of animals for the children to learn about and interact with. These included rabbits, goats, chickens, turkeys, sheep and tortoises.

John Bowne High School - students from the agriculture department at John Bowne High School attended with a host of live animals for the kids to learn about and interact with

Agriculture Activity Center – children stopped at various stations around the campus. Our specialists arranged an assortment of craft and therapeutic activities all agriculturally and apple themed.

Harvest Pumpkin Decorating and Scarecrow Contest– each class received pumpkins to decorate and they were displayed and then taken home. Group rooms participating in a Scarecrow decorating contest that was judged for prizes.

“Food &Crafts Market” –Red Jacket Orchards set up a green market and festival participants were able to purchase all manner of fresh produce and apple cider.

In addition, our developmentally disabled adults learned math skills and salesmanship as they operated a food & crafts market. They baked cookies and specialty breads, shucked corn, and made baked apples. The fresh roasted ears of corn and hot off the grill apples were a big hit with festival participants and the homemade breads, pies and muffins ran out before the demand did.

The day was a huge success!!!

We were very pleased to be able to plan a lunch menu using almost exclusively items produced in New York; including our signature dish – Hot Apple Soup and our new creation NY Garden Delite Muffins.

Our Harvest Festival continues to be an annual program highlight!

Students, Staff, Families and Guests spent the day learning about local produce and what is grown in New York State. Teachers once again report an increase in the students’ awareness of where their food comes from. Students are involved in agriculture lessons and in learning about the state they live in. The cafeteria staff reports a bigger interest in healthy fruits and vegetables (particularly New York Apples). There continues to be a growing pride about what is grown in New York, in general, and what was grown in our own gardens in particular.

Watching students bake their muffins, cuddle the bunnies, discover a new variety of apple ,or harvest their “school-grown” basil & tomatoes - watching their delight as they taste fresh squeezed NY apple cider -  has made this a magical experience for all of us involved with the planning of this year’s event.

When you hear a class of students chatter about where the vegetables they’re eating really comes from – when you see a child’s face as they finally make the connection between what they planted in the ground and what is on their lunch plate…. the hard work involved in planning the event suddenly becomes a whole lot easier!

The greenhouse arrives soon and planning begins for next year’s

 Harvest Festival 2007!!

Click Here for Harvest Festival 2006 Pictures