GARDEN CLUB OF NEW HAVEN AWARDS

Two monetary awards are given out annually by the Garden Club of New Haven to organizations and/or members of the community.  Recent recipients are listed below. Interested in finding out more? Please contact the club at gardenclubnh@gmail.com for further details. 

The Florence Bradley Award 

This award is given to a Greater New Haven group, organization, or individual whose work best reflects the mission of our Garden Club:  “create  interest  in  and  promote  knowledge  of  gardening, preservation  of  natural  resources,  and  civic  horticultural  work.” This award was established in 2012 by the Board of Directors. Recommendations for recipients are made to the committee; the membership will vote for the final selection. This award is  presented annually at a general meeting.
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2019 Recipient:
Growers Inc.
growersinc.org




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Growers Inc. helps adults with physical and developmental disabilities become self-sufficient through occupational training, education and experience in an horticultural environment. The program is supported by experts in the fields of horticulture, education and therapy, the local community, and volunteers. 
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 2018 Recipient:
The New Haven Land Trust  (www.newhavenlandtrust.org/)

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The New Haven Land Trust promotes community engagement in land stewardship and cultivation through land conservation, community gardening and environmental education.  NHLT oversees six nature preserves and nearly fifty community gardens within New Haven.  Programs that appealed to the Civic and Scholarship committees are the Land Trust's Incubator Gardens program and its Growing Entrepreneurs program.  The Incubator Gardens program works with low‐income adults with diet related chronic illnesses to teach these clients about healthy eating then provides a garden plot and support for growing healthy fresh food.  The Growing Entrepreneurs program works with New Haven high school students to teach them gardening and carpentry skills while working on small projects within the community gardens.  Justin Elicker, Director of the New Haven Land Trust, will be speaking to our membership in the early fall about these two programs and their use of the Bradley Award funding.  
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2017 Recipient: 

The Children's Horticultural Center
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​The Center, located on Whitney Avenue in Hamden and serving students from all over, but mostly New Haven students, has recently developed a Horticulture Program with the help of Stephanie Innes.  Stephanie, the Vocational Specialist in Horticulture, began her work with the Children’s Center in December 2015. She has been integrating her knowledge into many aspects of the school.  

​Stephanie, along with the help of her students, has undertaken a well-planned and executed job of planning, building, planting and tending the many vegetable and flower gardens at the Center.  She also grows beautiful plants in her classroom. Recently, Stephanie and the students planted 300 bulbs on the campus, so it has been a beautiful spring there.  
2016 Recipient: CT Agricultural Experiment Station

The mission of The Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station is to develop, advance, and disseminate scientific knowledge, improve agricultural productivity and environmental quality, protect plants, and enhance human health and well-being through research for the benefit of Connecticut residents and the nation.  Seeking solutions across a variety of disciplines for the benefit of urban, suburban, and rural communities, Station scientists remain committed to "Putting Science to Work for Society", a motto as relevant today as it was at their founding in 1875.
​Bartels Award
 
In 2013, Nancy H. Bartels and  her husband, Henry, established an endowment fund
for the club, administered by the Community Foundation that allows the GCNH to strengthen its  ties with the community, particularly in the area of community gardens.    This monetary award may be given annually to an organization in the Greater New Haven area or may be used to support activities within the Club that focus on areas of education and civic engagement. 
​2020   The Connecticut Beekeepers Association  ($2,000)   
 
This organization, which conducts programs and mentors beekeepers throughout the state, holds its monthly meetings at the Connecticut agriculture station here in New Haven. Working with public schools in the city and with the Common Ground School, they hold educationalprograms and conduct a B school which is open to all ages.
 
Their mission is to educate children and the community, transforming them from bee observers to bee advocates. They deliver programs that focus on the lifecycle of bees and bees’ importance to our ecosystem. By adopting a colony of bees, the students learn responsibility and develop a broad understanding of the importance of the species to our vegetation. By improving pollination in the garden, they see that the quality of plants and vegetables is improved. They learn how to protect their vital colony and they develop skills that will last a lifetime.
 
This award from the Bartels fund will provide important scholarships to inner-city students to offset the tuition costs for Bee School.
 
To learn about past recipients, click here.