RVGA Intership 2009

August 5, 2009

I was excited to be working at the Snyder estate because me and my friends like to wander around the old cement factory and explore the caves. You can imagine how happy I was when Rick took me and Carrie on a full tour of one of the caves in his Kubota. He showed us soil and clay deposits that seeped down through the ceiling. (Above ground he showed us the deep pits this creates.) Later Rick pointed out a huge column that went 40 feet up to the ceiling. He told us it was an air vent that went all the way above the ground. That’s when I realized it is the bottom of the bottomless well Sam found.

1 comment:

AnonymousAugust 7, 2009 at 9:51 AM
Keep up the good work!
Looks like you are doing some wonderful work
for the community!
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Background

This is the first year of the Rondout Valley Growers Association Internship Program. It evolved from the Fall Field Gleaning for the Hungry program developed by the Ulster County Environmental Management Commission and the RVGA over the past several years. In efforts to find ways to supply area food pantries and soup kitchens with fresh produce all season long, the internship program was first conceived as a way to involve and educate young people in this work, while providing them with exposure to various other service projects in our community that relate to education and agriculture.

Grant Funding for intern salaries and program expenses was provided through Kingston City Schools' Learn and Serve America program, NYS Education Department and the Corporation for National and Community Service.

A team of volunteers from several organizations has assisted in cultivating and creating this program:

Davenport Farms, Stone Ridge; Gill Farms, Hurley; and Saunderskill Farms, Accord provide generous donations of of produce twice weekly. Interns gather, prep, and inventory donations making them ready for distribution.

A team from Family of Woodstock, organized by Michael Berg, picks up and distributes produce to food pantries and soup kitchens in Stone Ridge, Rochester, Ellenville, New Paltz, Pottekill, Highland and Kingston each week.

Allyson Levy, Nicci Nashban, and Mary Jane Nussbaum of From the Ground Up, the wellness program which has grown out of the new Marbletown Elementary School garden, work with the interns on special projects maintenance at the school garden, and helped interns to establish this blog. Allyson and her husband Scott Serano, whose business Hortus Conclusus is about creating gardens, are responsible for the building of the garden at MES, and are in the process of building the garden at Rondout Valley Middle School where the interns have also been helping.

Rick Fritschler and Dietrich Werner of the Snyder Estate and Century House Museum in Rosendale have been working with the interns to create a new community garden and maintain trails and grounds. Along the way they have taken special efforts to educate the interns about environmental challeges at the Snyder Estate.

Fabia Wargin, Susan Perrin and Katie Thurst of the Rondout Valley Growers Association are responsible for coordination of the internship and donations program. Interns help was key in the running of the 2009 RVGA Farm Tour on July 25th.

Hopefully we will be able to find funding to continue this program next year. It has been a very rewarding experience for all involved.

RVGA Intership 2009

August 5, 2009

1 comment:

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