By Katherine Waters

Sun Staff Intern

NORWICH – A Chenango County native has been spending her summer at The Place, teaching school-aged children about the importance of eating locally grown food.

As a senior project, Julie Almeter created “Cultivating Community.” This new program is designed to “provide a simple and effective model of agriculture that engages youth in hands on activities of food production and environmental awareness,” she said.

For children, the program translates into a fun, summertime activity where they can learn where the food they eat was grown.

The children began their exploration of food production in April by planting seeds and seedlings in the community’s gardens. All seeds and seedlings were donated by Kelly’s Flowers off state Rt. 23 and High Mowing Seeds of Vermont.

“They learned, ‘If I plant the seed, I know where it came from and it is healthier for me,’” said Almeter.

On Wednesday, the group took a field trip to the Farmer’s Market in Norwich. The children acted as reporters to discover what growers had to do in order to produce vegetables. Some questions included: “How do you make pie?” and “How long does it take to grow a tomato?”