Community Partners
(click on pictures to see slideshow)

The Essex Garden Club partners with organizations in the community which share similar missions for civic beautification, conservation, and educating the public about horticulture and gardening.

Essex Library Association

The garden club donates resources to the Essex Library for both their adult and children’s programs. Funds also are used to purchase books on all aspects of gardening.

The adult programs this past year included two presentations; A new documentary by Karyl Eveans on “The Life and Gardens of Beatrix Farrand”, and a program on “Garden Trends for 2017” by Nancy Ballek Mackinnon of Ballek’s Garden Center. These programs were co-sponsored by the library and open to the public.

The garden club supports children's nature-based programs focused on growing vegetables and herbs which they could enjoy right from the garden. Each child also created a terrarium which they proudly took home. In addition, the library has a Citizen Scientist program where children learn about pollinators and dissecting flowers.

​Ivoryton Library Programs

The Essex Garden Club provides resources for the Ivoryton Library Children's Services. In collaboration with their reading program, children created terrarium gardens, and planted
vegetables that they then harvested and cooked in workshops. 

Essex Land Trust

The Land Trust's vision is to preserve and enhance our community's open space and natural resources for the benefit of future generations. The Essex Garden Club shares this goal on conservation and partners each year in co-sponsoring programs open to the public. This past year, we co-sponsored a "Save the Monarchs" program given by Nancy DuBrule-Clemente.

Together the two organizations created a Butterfly Habitat on Cross Lots, one of the Land Trust's properties. In this 1,200 square foot bed, garden club volunteers planted 22 different varieties of perennials and shrubs, totalling 850 plants. The emphasis was on native plants including hyssops, milkweed, indigo, coneflower, asters and many more. The area also includes good forage plants for the caterpillars that will encourage the butterflies to stay rather than just visit.

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Essex Historical Society
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The Essex Garden Club has been maintaining the Historical Societies’ Pratt House kitchen garden for a number of seasons. Members of the Essex Garden Club have volunteered to design, plant and maintain the garden throughout the years. The garden club members have researched colonial life in order to ensure the garden’s authenticity on this historic property. The Essex Historical Society utilizes this additional point of interest to enhance visitors' tours through the house and to add to the educational aspect of their program by sharing information on gardens during colonial life.

 

The Town of Essex
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The Essex Garden Club partners with the Town of Essex to promote civic beautification and provide educational and recreational opportunities for children.

The garden club’s Civic Committee works with the Parks and Recreation Department to maintain the Town Park, Dickinson Park and several traffic islands in town. They provide annuals to the villages of Centerbrook, Essex and Ivoryton, including the Essex Fire Department, the Centerbrook Post Office, the Town Hall, Planters at the Town Park, the Ivoryton Village Gardeners and the Ancient Order of Weeders for the islands on Route 154.

The garden club provides camperships through the Town Parks and Recreation. These one-week sessions provide a focus on nature and science. The Junior Activities Coordinator also provides programs during these two weeks.

Essex Schools​
The Essex Garden Club partners with the Essex Elementary, Middle and High Schools to offer opportunities to support children's learning of gardening and horticulture.​

Essex Elementary School
The garden club funded transportation for two school field trips. The second grade went to the Connecticut Science Center, and the kindergarten children went to Meigs Point Nature Center at the Hammonasset Beach State Park for a program hosted by the Audubon Society.

​Valley Regional High School
The garden club donated tools to the Ecology Club for use in their raised bed gardens at the school.

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​John Winthrop Middle School
The garden club provided funds to enhance “The Farm” located at the school. This year their growing garden beds were expanded and repairs were made to the greenhouse. Vegetables grown in “The Farm” are used for cooking classes in the school. Funds were also provided to the Robotics Club to build a pollinator garden at the Deep River Farm.