RC Briarcliff Begins Multigeneration Project
The Rotary Club of Briarcliff Manor has launched a fresh health initiative to to raise health awareness and encourage self-sufficiency: cultivating a “Health Garden“ to grow organic fresh vegetables. The project, launched at The Atria on Saturday, May 16, 2015 at 2 p.m., involved the cooperative effort of three generations of Briarcliff residents through Rotary, Interact, and ElderAct.The Interact Club at Briarcliff High School, and the ElderAct Club of Briarcliff Manor, both of which Clubs are sponsored by the Rotary Club of Briarcliff Manor, were also active participants in this multi-generational effort. Interact Club members are high school students, while the ElderAct Club members are senior citizens who are unable to become members of Rotary due to reasons of logistics, health, or other constraints.
Rotarian Past President Anne Cargill and Atria’s “Engage Life” Director Jennifer Green organized the multi-generational project, while Rotarian Vijaya Jain, a certified nutritionist and food research scientist who is also a member of the Briarcliff Rotary, guided the where, when and what of the vegetables planted, and other aspects of care for a healthy garden. Rotarians Kris Chittur, Scott Lanoff, Eric Lebenson, Rachel Leihbacher, and Jim Lupfer, participated, as did Interactors Akshara Chittur, James Fludgate, Lindsey
Heier, Isabel Klein, Sam Lanoff, Erica Rebisz, and Alexandra Schoepke, and ElderActors Sylvia Karas , Louise Gerchberg and Peggy Frese
The three generations worked side by side seamessly on this beautiful Saturday afternoon - digging, troveling and weeding, preparing the garden bed and planting, and finally, watering the garden. What had been an unsightly mish-mash of weeds at 2 p.m. became by 4 p.m. a delightful, young garden waiting to sprout bountiful amounts of tomatoes, basil, peppermint, sweet paper and cucumber. “”Cleaning out and then planting the garden was very meaningful for us,” said Sam Lanoff. ”We really enjoyed connecting to the seniors and hopefully they will enjoy the garden.”
ElderActors will tend to the garden on a day to day basis, watering and taking care of other necessary activities of constant vigil required for the Health Garden.
“This was a major purpose of ElderAct: presenting opportunities for the generations to work together cooperatively and learn from each other,” said Rotarian Past President Kris Chittur, who founded the ElderAct in Briarcliff Manor in 2013, and continues to be an enthusiastic promoter. Interactors, Rotarians, and ElderActors would learn gardening skills and nutritional essentials, and working cooperatively across generations. And hopefully, everyone will develop a taste for garden-fresh vegetables and fruits.
The Rotary Club of Briarcliff Manor thanks Atria for this opportunity, and hopes this is the harbinger of many similar multi-generational projects. If you have ideas for a multi-generational project, contact Rtn. PP Kris Chittur, at kchittur@post.harvard.edu