Cornell Cooperative Extension Community Horticulture

Greetings:

Seems as if there is a new word in the air these days.  Everyone isn’t just busy, they’re crazy busy.  I hear that word constantly from students at Cornell.  I hear it on the street, at the grocery store, in conversations, and from some of my colleagues, family members — even from children and elders in my community!

Question: are we best serving our audiences if we’re like hamsters on a treadmill?  How can we be committed to educating about healthy lifestyles, if we ourselves are all stressed out?  Can we genuinely foster mastery, belonging, generosity and independence if we’re hurrying young people through an activity, checking our watches and thinking about doing the next thing?  What about that “H” in 4-H that stands for heart?

Through the ages, in challenging times, people have turned to the garden in all its various forms for restoration.  It can offer profound rejuvenation, and can be an important foundation for garden-based learning (or any learning).  It does mean taking a little down time to get there!  We’re exploring the possibility of a retreat to Light on the Hill, a reflective retreat center about 1/2 hour outside of Ithaca, in early March (5 & 6).  We envision a day devoted to reflective activities and conversation that help us to take a deep breath and restore ourselves, and then, a day to consider how we extend this to our audiences.  We see this as an ideal time of the year, before the gardening season, the remainder of the school year, and other demands begin to press in.

At this point, we’re simply looking for a show of hands: does this interest you?  Unlike other “in-services” we wouldn’t need the commitment of a large group, and in fact, the lodge at Light on the Hill would only accommodate up to 40.

Unless you’re simply too…crazy busy to join us?

Best,
Marcia

Marcia Eames-Sheavly
Cornell Garden-Based Learning Institute
Department of Horticulture, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853
http://www.hort.cornell.edu/gbl
http://www.hort.cornell.edu/art

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