SULLIVAN COUNTY, NY — Sullivan 180 recently announced the recipients of the 2024 Catskill Edible Garden Project grants.

The grants provide for the creation and care of edible gardens in schools and day care facilities. 

As an extension of Sullivan 180’s initiative to create a healthier generation for Sullivan County youth, the gardens serve as educational places with access to healthy foods and highlight the county’s agricultural heritage.

The gardens also serve as hands-on gathering spaces to connect with the community and the environment.

The Catskill Edible Garden Project is a partnership between Catskill Mountainkeeper, Cornell Cooperative Extension and Sullivan 180. Grants ranging from $400 to $2,500 were awarded.

The projects include building new gardens, the rebuilding of older gardens and the maintenance of established gardens. 

The grant recipients are:

Emma C. Chase Elementary School—to add trellises, drainage, perennials and vegetables and to work alongside an Eagle Scout to build a shed and greenhouse.

Fallsburg Jr./Sr. High School—to bring the existing school garden back into use with seeds, soil, lattice and irrigation.

George L. Cooke School—to build a more inviting entryway garden bed with herbs and pollinator plants and for the care of existing vegetable and fruit beds.

Homestead Collaborative College High School—funding for compost and vegetables within the permaculture program.

Kenneth L. Rutherford Elementary School—to add herbs, perennials, and tools alongside the care of the existing garden.

Liberty Elementary School—the construction of a new garden bed and shed for tool storage and to purchase new wheelbarrows. 

Liberty High School—for the maintenance of the existing edible garden and to add pollinator plants for lesson extensions as well as kitchen materials for use in preparing garden harvest.

Livingston Manor Central School—to add fencing and native perennials.

Roscoe Central School—for the re-build of a decade-old existing garden with a sensory focus.

Sullivan County BOCES—for the continued maintenance and enhancement of the existing edible garden and to help fund a new build to serve other wings of the school.

Sullivan West Elementary School—for the addition of tool shed and tools, as well as the purchase of soil and seeds.

Valley Daycare—for the expansion of the garden for younger students with new containers, tools and seeds.

For more information on how to get involved with the Catskill Edible Garden Project, call Eva Bednar at 845/295-2719 or email Eva@Sullivan180.org.