UConn Master Gardeners
Cultivating Education and Food Security
A dedicated group of Master Gardener volunteers is lovingly cultivating an organic Demonstration Vegetable Garden at the Fairfield County Extension Center in Bethel. It is a beautiful oasis teeming with butterflies and pollinators every summer as volunteers harvest vegetables and donate them to area food pantries. The bountiful harvests include fresh herbs and annual flowers. The Master Gardeners collaborate with Extension’s food and nutrition programs to provide recipients with nutritious recipes in Spanish and English specific to the harvested produce. Among the area organizations who benefit from the annual donations are the Brookfield Food Pantry, Faith Food Pantry in Newtown, Daily Bread in Danbury, and the Bethel Food Pantry; rotating throughout the season to share the annual 1,000-pounds plus of bounty.
A group of Master Gardener interns started the 3,000 square foot garden in 2013 to assist food insecure clients, educate the public about Integrated Pest Management (IPM) techniques, and best garden practices. More Master Gardeners join the group each year and add to the garden’s infrastructure. It now has numerous raised beds, an irrigation system, tunnels to protect brassica crops from cabbageworms, and a blueberry enclosure to keep birds out.
Andrea Sarnik, an Advanced Master Gardener, began working in the garden in 2018 and joined Barbara Stauder as a project co-captain in 2020. Andrea explains, “The garden’s primary mission is to serve as an educational tool. It does that in many ways. The garden itself is a showcase of varieties of vegetables, fruit, herbs, and flowers. We receive many visitors on Saturdays when we open the garden during the Farmers’ Market. Visitors get ideas on things they might try and answers to gardening questions from the Master Gardener volunteers. The garden is marked with signs identifying the crops, companion planting, and integrated pest management information.”
A small rain garden display sits alongside the equipment shed and a rain barrel system catches water from its roof. A three-bin compost system is also nearby. Everyone benefits from this educational garden, and new interns join the group each year as they pursue their Master Gardener certification. “Master Gardener interns obtain a broad array of information from the more senior Master Gardeners and even the seasoned gardeners continue to learn as they encounter issues and exchange information,” Andrea adds. The enthusiastic group weighs their harvests and tracks their crops with spreadsheets, noting weather and pest issues. The garden’s success and impact grows each season.
Article by Sandi Wilson