1. 4/12/13 Community Garden Project Planned for South Amboy YMCA | YMCA of Metuchen, Edison, Woodbridge and South Amboy
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LiveSTRONG at the Y Posted April 4, 2012 at 3:58pm
Community garden project planned for So. Amboy YMCA
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SOUTH AMBOY — Thanks to a grocery store grant, local gardeners will be able to share their talents with the city’s
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YMCA.
“It’s such a cool partnership,” Melissa Soules said of the arrangement between the South Amboy Community Garden, a
civic group that launched about a year ago, and the YMCA.
A Stop & Shop Healthy Futures grant for $1,761 will be combined with donations from local businesses to create a
rainbow vegetable garden, which is a garden that provides nutritional value across the color spectrum. For example,
Soules said, zucchini for green, eggplant for purple. The garden will be located at the YMCA, 200 John T. O’Leary Blvd.
The effort will be a true community project, Soules said, adding that she hopes to get youngsters from the YMCA to
participate, as well as seniors from the city’s Senior Center. Ideally, it will become a cross­generational project.
“Alot of those seniors grew up having a garden and now don’t have the opportunity,” Soules said .
Local businesses contributing include Holland Greenhouses of Monroe, which is donating vegetable plants, and Pride
Landscaping of Parlin, which is donating soil. The group’s members are also donating hoses and a Monarch Waystation
Seed Kit, said Amanda Rushnak, membership and marketing director of the South Amboy YMCA. A monarch way
station is a botanical habitat designed to attract the butterflies.
JOIN OUR EMAIL LIST Soules said the raised beds have been ordered, and the group will be doing plantings in the next couple of weeks.
“The South Amboy YMCA partners with local organizations to increase the quality of life in the communities it serves,”
said YMCA branch Director Sherrill Rudy. “We are looking forward to working with the South Amboy Community Garden
club to foster an interest in gardening in youth and families, to teach families how to create their own gardens, to grow
produce for the local community, and to beautify the property around the YMCA.”
The South Amboy Community Garden, composed of about seven members, has been doing various projects throughout
the city since its inception. These include a vegetable garden at Christ Church and various beautification efforts, such as
the decorations for the city’s Christmas tree lighting. Members have also helped with YMCA initiatives.
The community group donates its bounty from existing vegetable gardens to senior residents at Robert Noble Manor.
“They were so appreciative, and they loved it,” Soules said of last year’s deliveries.
Also forthcoming for the community gardeners is a container garden project at the Sadie Pope Dowdell Library on April
23.
“It’s a kids’ program, but we’re hoping the parents will get involved, too,” Soules said.
The garden at the YMCA will officially launch on April 28, which is also the YMCA’s Healthy Kids Day.
The South Amboy Community Garden has a Facebook page where residents can learn more about the organization.
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