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Union County Offers Horticulture Program at Trailside for Children with Disabilities

MOUNTAINSIDE, NJ – The Union County Board of Chosen Freeholders and the Department of Parks and Community Renewal, in collaboration with the Master Gardeners of Union County, are pleased to offer a Horticulture Program for children with developmental disabilities, 8-14 years of age, on Saturday mornings at Trailside Nature and Science Center in Mountainside.

“This horticulture program is a great opportunity for children with developmental disabilities to gain a basic understanding of plants and trees and to treat their senses to the springtime blooms of the Demonstration Garden in the Watchung Reservation,” said Freeholder Chairman Alexander Mirabella.

The program will be held on six consecutive Saturday mornings, March 31, April 7, 14, 21 and 28 and May 5, from 10:00 – 11:00 a.m. at Trailside. Pre-registration is required and the fee for all six classes is $12. Participants are asked to register by March 23.

Members of the Master Gardeners of Union County from Rutgers Cooperative Extension will instruct this six-week program, which is designed to teach horticulture to children with developmental disabilities through hands-on projects using plants and planting activities.

Children will have a chance to see, touch and smell budding spring flowers, shrubs and trees that have been cultivated in the garden. Some of the activities the children can look forward to include creating a terrarium; making a flower press and pressing flowers; tours and activities in the Master Gardeners’ Demonstration Garden, and planting an herb pot. Participants are asked to dress accordingly since they will have their hands and feet in dirt.

Trailside Nature & Science Center is located at 452 New Providence Road in Mountainside and is a service of the Union County Board of Chosen Freeholders. For information on the Horticulture Program or any other programs for people with disabilities, visit the web site: https://ucnj.org/recreation-for-people-with-disabilities; call the Union County Department of Parks and Community Renewal, Programs for the Disabled at 908-527-4806; or e-mail mheisey@ucnj.org.

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For more information on any Union County press release, please contact Sebastian D’Elia, Communications Director for the County of Union, or a designee listed at the top of this press release. Please join the County of Union online at www.ucnj.org, on Facebook at www.ucnj.org/facebook, and on Twitter athttp://twitter.com/countyofunionnj.