Green Teens program begins soon at Trackside

The Wilton Garden Club, Wilton Youth Services, and Trackside Teen Center are bringing the Green Teens program back to Trackside for its third year. Teen participants will work together with experienced gardeners from the Wilton Garden Club to design garden beds, plant, maintain and harvest produce, and learn how to make healthy recipes from fresh, organic ingredients grown from the garden. Teens will also have an opportunity to give back to their community as healthy produce raised in the Green Teens garden will be donated to the Wilton Food Pantry.

The Green Teens program is open to students in grades 5 through 8. This will be a community service project for youth to learn while actively giving back. Participants can earn service hours in this Spring program or during the weekly Summer session while harvesting produce for the Wilton Food Pantry along with cutting and making fresh flower arrangements for the Senior Center. Green Teens will meet at the gardens at Trackside on Wednesdays from 3:30 to 5:00pm from May 3rd to June 7th. There will also be an opportunity for friends and family to volunteer to maintain the gardens over the summer months. Registration is free and can be completed online at trackside.org/green-teens.

Pam Nobumoto and Laurie Musilli are coordinating the Green Teens program for the Wilton Garden Club. The program is also being supported by Jim Hunter of the Wilton High School Organic Garden and Jonathan Kirschner of Ambler Farm. Both organizations will be donating seedlings to the Green Teens program.

The Neighborhood Garden at Trackside was originally built by Girl Scout Karina Olsen for her Girl Scout Gold Award Project in 2011. She and other Wilton High School students grew vegetables and flowers at the garden for many years for the Wilton Food Pantry. In the Spring of 2015, Steven Batter Jr. and Nicholas Johnson of Boy Scout Troop 20 designed, constructed, and installed new raised beds and a tool shed at the garden for their Eagle Scout projects. In the Spring of 2016, Sean Bergen added two more raised beds and Michael McElroy completed a tri-section compost bin as their Eagle Scout Projects.

Eco-Systems – extended and repaired drip irrigation, timer and rain sensor.

Bolton Landscape – created a commercial Mulch bed to house picnic tables.

The Green Teens program engages over 25 youth planting and tending the gardens in the spring and summer months producing over 200 pounds of produce for the Wilton Food Pantry. The garden provides a place for Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts to learn and earn badges.

For more information and registration, visit www.trackside.org. For any questions, contact Trackside Program Director Amy Nassef at (203) 834-2888 or email Amy@trackside.org.