Photos
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Starbright Camper Hannah Liang (5) gets an assist from Master Gardener Susan Marino-Jennings (of Mountainside) during Camp Starbright’s 4th annual visit with the Master Gardeners of Union County in their Trailside Demonstration Gardens
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Aiden Olmo (8, foreground) takes a proud stand as he gets ready to catch butterflies
Starbright Camp in Scotch Plains
Friday, August 17, 2012 • 6:28pm
SCOTCH PLAINS, NJ – A well kept secret it that Scotch Plains is host to Camp Starbright, sponsored by the Center for Hope Hospice and Palliative Care. The camp meets at 175 Glenside Avenue (Scotch Plains) for a two one-week period every year during the month of July. Starbright is a Bereavement Day Camp for children ages 5-13. The Camp was founded in 2002, following the events on September 11, 2001.
This year, the Master Gardeners of Union County hosted a day of learning and fun in their Demonstration Gardens for children and counselors for their 4th annual visit to the Master Gardeners in their Demonstration Gardens, located at Trailside in the Watchung Reservation (Mountainside).
Starbright Camp Director Melissa von der Heide said, “the children enjoyed their time spent with the Master Gardeners and used what they learned when returning to camp. Many of the children replanted their begonias at home, having learned to pot them with the Master Gardeners.”
“The following week, on July 17,” said von der Heide, “the Master Gardeners also helped to clean up our Memory Garden at Acadia House in Scotch Plains, where the camp takes place. The children planted more begonias and decorated rocks there in remembrance of their loved ones. The children's favorite activity while at Trailside was catching butterflies and later releasing them as part of our Remembrance Circle.”
The camp is free, thanks in part to the generous grant from The Moyer Foundation, The Tom Burnett Family Campership Endowment, and the Scotch Plains-Fanwood Municipal Alliance. For more information, visit www.centerforhope.com under Hope Programs, (908) 654-3711, OR contact Camp Director Melissa von der Heide at campstarbright@centerforhope.com.
The UC Master Gardeners are self-supporting, trained volunteers who assist the Rutgers, NJ Agricultural Experiment Station (NJAES) Cooperative Extension in its mission to deliver horticultural programs and information to the general public. They often host groups of children in their Demonstration Gardens.
Want to become a certified Master Gardener? The course of study is offered on Tuesdays (10am-12:30pm) from October through May at the Rutgers Cooperative Extension, 300 North Avenue East in Westfield. To enroll in the MG Program or for more information, call Judy LaGagna at (908) 654-9854 or visit mastergardeners-uc/org on the Web.
