Issue link: http://viewer.e-digitaledition.com/i/292446
SOW SEEDS OF GOOD HEALTH This spring, Valley West Hospital and DeKalb County Community Gardens established an employee garden consisting of 15 raised beds on the north side of the campus. Employees who volunteer to tend the garden are eligible to share in the bounty, including green beans, lettuce, peppers, and tomatoes. The hospital aims to serve the fresh produce in the cafeteria and donate any surplus yield to a local food pantry. KISHPROGRAMS.ORG Kids Can Cook! Summer Classes For kids 8 - 11. Sign up for as many as you like. Free//Registration Required VALLEY WEST MEDICAL OFFICE BUILDING - 815.786.3962 June 9, 9 – 11 am – Great Grains Exploration June 10, 9 – 11 am – Fruit & Veg Out June 12, 9 – 11 am – Mighty Protein and Delightful Dairy Turn to the center spread for additional programs. Kids Can Cook! GARDENING IS AN ENJOYABLE FAMILY ACTIVITY THAT CAN ALSO SPARK A PASSION FOR HEALTHY LIVING IN YOUNGSTERS. STUDIES SUGGEST CHILDREN are more likely to try fruits and vegetables when they're involved in growing and harvesting them. "Gardening strengthens a child's knowledge of and respect for the environment," says Beckie Frieders, certified health education specialist and preventive health educator at Valley West Hospital. "It increases understanding of where food comes from." Experts also link gardening with improving a child's self-esteem, attitude toward learning, and sense of what can be accomplished. How can you get a child to trade the TV remote for a trowel? Start small. Ask your little one to decorate a pot for planting cherry tomatoes and then dig holes for the seedlings. When you create the opportunity, interest may grow along with the plants themselves. GOOD FOR GROWNUPS Gardening brings a bevy of benefits for adults, too. EXERCISE—The intensity of work in a garden depends on the size of the plot and the activities you choose to do. "Hoeing or raking works your leg, arm, and shoulder muscles," Frieders says. "Most gardening tasks elevate the heart rate and improve flexibility." Thirty to 45 minutes of gardening burns 150 calories, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. NUTRITION—It doesn't get much better than growing your own food, health-wise and taste-wise. RELAXATION AND STIMULATION— What better way to slow down, get creative, invigorate your mind, and reduce stress than to plan and tend a garden? "Everyone wants to live a healthy life," Frieders says. "Gardening helps us do that in all facets." 11 ⁄ S U M M E R 1 4