Rockland Recreation
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Kids - Spring/ Summer How To Garden Program

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Rockland Recreation is pleased to bring on Alyson Phipps as our children's Gardening instructor.  We have teamed up to bring you this 8-week program filled with planting, growing, and sampling food they will grow on their own. The following is her introduction and a snapshot of our program. Children Gardening  
My name is Alyson Phipps and I’m really excited to share the magic of growing food with our community. A little about me, I grew up in Rockland and worked as a summer nanny in high school. In my 20’s I was a live in nanny for many years. I’ve always enjoyed helping children discover the world around them. My step father has a degree in botany and works as a wetland scientist so gardening has been a part of my life since I could hold a shovel.

Over the years, the skills he taught me have been a recurring lesson on how important it is to know where our food comes from, so teaching children the magic of growing their own food has always been something I truly enjoy. 

In this gardening class, we will learn about growing truly organic food in our Zone 6b grow season.

Some of the topics we will review are: 
- Seed Starting
- Soil quality and amending
- Natural pest control
- Transplanting
- Watering & Rain Water 
- Plant spacing and growth needs
- Understanding garden issues like bad bugs & mildew
- Animal foraging
- Finding natural mulch
- Pruning
- Understanding weather change and the effects it has on the garden
- Benefits of growing food
- Pollination process and why it is necessary compost
- Harvesting seeds
- Winterizing garden beds.

This will be a full “how to” garden season from start to finish. My goal is to not only show your child how to set up and maintain a garden but also how to use our native environment and ecosystem to create a thriving garden and produce organic food year after year. 

Please note: Most of this will be hands on, some may be discussion.  Please make sure your child is dressed appropriately.  Closed toe shoes are a must and have your child bring their own gloves.   

Please Read: 
If your child is not feeling well or is exhibiting any of the following symptoms please keep them home. 
- a fever 
- a cough
- sore throat
- fast breathing
- chills
- shaking with chills
- muscle pain
- headache
- a loss of taste or smell

Wearing of Face Masks:  
Face masks are required to participate in the program. We ask that participants bring and use a mask.

 Drop Off:
At our rolling drop off you will be asked that you and your child stay in your car.  You will be asked a series of questions about your child before they get out of the car.  This is information will not be shared unless there has been a confirmed case of COVID -19.  At that point any information we collect will be shared with the health agent and she will share it with the state.         

Pick Up:
We will be doing a rolling pick up for the children.  We ask that you stay in your car and let your child come to you.  

What To Bring: 
- Plenty of water in a bottles marked with their name. 
- Apply sunscreen & bug spray before you leave the house.
- A towel to wipe their face
- Extra face mask 
- Please put every thing in a back pack so that we can keep the children's items separate



Registration & Refund Information 






  • Registration: Student is only considered registered (and spot reserved) in a program once payment is received. Online registration & payment is the quickest and easiest way to secure a spot in a program. Registration is also accepted in our office and by mail on a first-come first-served basis.


  • Refunds: There will be a $10 processing fee for all refunds/credits and all requests must be made at least 5 business days prior to the start of the program.


  • Age Requirement: Participants must be the minimum age for the program or turn that age within the first week of the program.


  • Confirmations: Please keep a record of your registration. Confirmations are emailed as soon as your registration is processed; no further confirmations or reminders are provided.


  • We ensure the safety of all participants in our programs. Therefore we hold the right to decline/remove any child from any program provided that the child is: 1)Potentially putting themselves at risk of injury, 2) Potentially putting others at risk of injury through their actions, or 3) Blatantly disregarding proper safety rules as set forth by the instructor of the program.

* Adjustments and discounts will be applied during checkout if applicable. *

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