The Mullica Hill library will host a one-time Grow Your Own Food event at 3:30 p.m. Friday to teach teens from 13 to 18 how to cultivate food for the facility’s garden.
The free session is inspired by the Longwood Gardens Community Read event, a program from the Berks County, Pennsylvania, library system that provides local libraries and museums with three books centered around a single theme.
This year’s theme is food and sustainability, which provoked the idea for the library garden and Grow Your Own Food session. The township event’s head, library staffer Crysta Miller, described how the program will proceed.
“First, we’ll start by preparing a seed starter cup with soil, water, and the seeds,” she explained. “They can choose to plant tomatoes or flowers, which I acquired through our seed bank program. Then there will be a demonstration showing how the food regenerates after it has been cut. I have lettuce, scallions and celery for this demonstration.”
Miller wants participants to feel a sense of accomplishment as they see and engage with fully grown food.
“It’s a big deal to nurture a seedling and see it flourish to produce the things they eat,” she said. “It can also teach patience and responsibility. They get out of it what they put into it.”
Miller did not rule out another Grow Your Own Food session.
“Depending on how this program grows,” she noted, “it could be extended to more demonstrations and tours/usage of the garden at the library.”
Attendance for the garden event does not require a library card, but registration is encouraged online and should include a name, email address and phone number. Each attendee must fill out a form.
