Briefs: Children’s Garden, Hero of the Month, more

Ithaca Children’s Garden to install four-season shelter

At Ithaca Children’s Garden, the mission to create a more beautiful, resilient and just world is grounded in ensuring children have access to nature in order to build relationships with the natural world.

The garden is open every day of the year, and admission is always free. Their signature events celebrate each of the seasons, and year-round programs are nature-centered, to offer neighbors countless opportunities to forge a connection with play and the outdoors.

While it may seem counterintuitive, year-round outdoor programming is difficult without the security of an indoor space. For many years, and exacerbated by the pandemic, garden staff and visitors alike have been challenged by inclement weather without a four-season shelter on site.

This spring, supported by its dedicated community and its Board of Directors, ICG has begun the long-awaited process of installing a permanent four-season structure, a 30-foot yurt, at Ithaca Children’s Garden. The yurt will provide those most vulnerable to weather extremes with accessible, secure, year-round shelter from the elements.

“We hope that the yurt will expand on the great work the garden has done to encourage the neighborhoods most in need and will allow for all-year access to visitors and local families to enjoy so that the garden is a consistent and persistent positive presence in more community lives,” said ICG Board member Brock Gibian.

Ithaca Children’s Garden will remain open as it undergoes this major project. Safety fencing has been raised around the site, and visible signage is posted throughout the garden to help ensure visitor safety.

Visit the garden this spring to see how the yurt is growing!

 

Toni Adams named Community Hero of the Month for May

Toni Adams was named the Community Hero of the Month for May from the Tompkins County Chamber of Commerce. The award, which is a partnership between Tompkins Community Bank and the Tompkins Chamber, recognizes individuals from Tompkins County who have significantly impacted the community.

As executive director of the Lansing Food Pantry, Adams has been helping to ensure local families have access to healthy and nutritious food. In her role, Adams coordinates volunteers, serves clients, orders and manages inventory and manages the food pantry’s finances.

“She is the driving force behind the Lansing Food Pantry that so many depend on,” Adams’ nomination stated. “Toni’s work makes a huge difference in the lives of our neighbors, making sure folks do not go hungry and kids have what they need to grow and thrive.”

Additionally, Adams is part of the Lansing Lunchbox team, a food program that serves children in the Lansing Central School District (see tinyurl.com/2qs2q4y7).

“Toni volunteers her time (hours and hours each and every week without fail) and gives her good will to make sure the rest of us are taken care of,” the nomination stated. “Toni has dedicated her efforts to helping. That’s the definition of a community hero.”

“The people I work with are all very much into helping other people,” Adams said. “And the clients that come in to those two programs, they’re so appreciative.”

Adams has more than 30 years of experience in human resources and applies her passion for helping people to her current roles.

“Maybe it’s ingrained in me, I’ve done it [helping people] for so long,” she said. “That’s the way people should be. That’s the way I grew up, and I made a big assumption that everybody is that way.”

The effect of Adams’s work has been nothing but positive, according to Tompkins Chamber President Jennifer Tavares.

“Toni exemplifies the impact a passionate, caring volunteer can have on their local community,” Tavares said. “Her work as executive director of the Lansing Food Pantry and support for the Lansing Lunchbox school-based food program have helped hundreds of families navigate hard times and adverse economic conditions. We need more Tonis in this world.”

Tompkins President and CEO Greg Hartz said Adams’s contribution to the Lansing community is notable.

“Toni is a perfect example of a community hero,” he said. “She fills a great need in Lansing, and she thinks nothing of giving her energy to make sure people facing food insecurity have access to healthy and nutritious food. It is people like Toni that make our communities special.”

Adams received a Community Hero of the Month plaque and a few additional surprises from Tompkins Trust Company.

For more information about the Lansing Food Pantry, call (607) 379-7245. For more information about Lansing Lunchbox, visit facebook.com/LansingLunchbox or email lansingsummerlunchbox@gmail.com.

 

The Museum of the Earth is a 2022 Blue Star Museum

The Museum of the Earth announced it will join museums nationwide in the Blue Star Museums initiative, a program that provides free admission to currently serving U.S. military personnel and their families this summer. The 2022 program began on Armed Forces Day, May 21, and will end on Labor Day, Sept. 5. Find the list of participating museums at arts.gov/bluestarmuseums.

Blue Star Museums is a partnership between the National Endowment for the Arts and Blue Star Families, in collaboration with the Department of Defense and museums across America.

“We are proud to offer free admission to these families every summer,” said Warren Allmon, director of the Paleontological Research Institution (PRI), the organization that facilitates the Museum of the Earth. “We also offer discounted admission to all active, retired and veteran families throughout the rest of the year.”

“Museums educate and inspire, cause us to wonder and imagine, dream and remember,” said Maria Rosario Jackson, chair of the National Endowment for the Arts. “By participating in the Blue Star Museums program, the Museum of the Earth is offering military personnel and their families an opportunity to feel connected to the Ithaca community and to explore the world through the power of arts, culture and design, contributing to each person being able to live an artful life.”

Blue Star Museums include children’s museums, art, science and history museums, zoos, gardens, lighthouses and more and hail from all 50 states, District of Columbia and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The current list of participating museums will continue to develop over the summer as organizations are welcome to register to be a Blue Star Museum throughout the summer.

“Our military community looks forward to the Blue Star Museum program each year, and I am excited to celebrate the 2022 season along with them!” said Kathy Roth-Douquet, CEO of Blue Star Families. “Thank you Museum of the Earth for participating in this impactful program and offering military families the opportunity to enjoy the arts with you this summer.”

The free admission program is available for those currently serving in the United States Military — including Air Force, Army, Coast Guard, Marine Corps, Navy and Space Force — and members of the Reserves, National Guard,

U.S. Public Health Commissioned Corps and NOAA Commissioned Corps, as well as up to five family members.

Qualified members must show a valid military identification document to enter the museum for free.

 

BOCES Facilitates Equity Training for Schools

Districts from across the Tompkins-Seneca-Tioga region and beyond joined Natalie McGee, CEO of Progression Partners, Inc. (right), for an introduction to Equity Learning Walks, a practical tool for supporting diverse and inclusive school environments.

The Equity Learning Walk Tool provides an examination of school practices to reflect on school improvement processes and self-evaluation of how well, and how systematically, they ensure the environment is culturally inclusive. The tool assesses demonstrated value in the school environment and discovers the celebration of diversity.

“The purpose of the walk is to examine school environment and review policies, communications and procedures for consistency, inclusivity and equality,” said TST BOCES Coordinator of Professional Learning Emily Wemmer (left).

McGee serves as a lead cultural proficiency consultant helping school districts and organizations respond in healthy ways to diversity by developing inclusive policies and practices.

“Educational equity work is not adding more to your plate; it is your plate!” she said during the event.

Participants engaged in interactive activities that explored concepts in the school audit tool and in courageous conversations around issues that emerge in diverse environments.

Sponsored by TST BOCES Regional School Success Services, individualized support is available to the districts that participated in the regional event through Progression Partners.

For more information on TST RSS offerings, visit TSTboces.org/RSS.

 

First responders recognized for life-saving efforts at airport

Tompkins County Legislature Chairwoman Shawna Black recently recognized members of the county’s airport team, Sheriff’s Office, Emergency Response Department and volunteer EMS for delivering life-saving care to an individual who had stopped breathing.

It was an honor for our 9-1-1 dispatchers to meet Daniel Malone, whose family operates The Legacy Cafe at the airport. Malone was all smiles, as well, at a thank-you lunch for those responsible for saving his life.

In this photo, from left to right: Lauren Dickenson, Travis Collins, and Eldon Stevens, emergency services dispatchers; Daniel T. Malone; and Zack Guidi, dispatch supervisor.