Interactive garden experience teaches us about how to eat, agriculture, pollination, sustainability and cooking

Bronx, NY – June 16, 2015 – The WCS’s (Wildlife Conservation Society) Bronx Zoo has partnered with the FarmOn! Foundation and is hosting a number of interactive gardening experiences in a new farming display on the lawn outside of the Butterfly Garden.

Curated by the FarmOn! Foundation the theme “How Does Our Garden Grow?” will teach children about important aspects of nature including seed, soil and the animals’ role in the pollination process. Each weekend offers the opportunity for kids to get their hands dirty in the garden at the zoo with experts and pick up some tips for getting started at home that is at the core of the FarmOn! mission. 

Activities will connect zoogoers to natural processes and engage families in sustainable activities that relate to gardening, compost, pollination and nutrition. Participants will learn how actions and choices affect the planet.

Sat. and Sun. June 20-21

Celebrating All-Star Dads: Healthy Food and Recipes- FarmOn! Foundation will host the garden and bring in professional athletes to inspire youth to eat healthy. Learn some healthy tips for Father's Day that you can use year-round. From 12–1 p.m. and 2–3 p.m., meet Roger and Colby Carrot from the Super Sprowtz. After sitting in on seasonal recipe lessons with real chefs, you and your family will leave completely full (of knowledge).

Sat. and Sun. June 27-28

Celebrating Pollinators - FarmOn! Foundation together with seed from the Poughkeepsie Farm Project will teach children how to “Be a Bee” and discuss the importance of pollinators. Youngsters can find their inner bee during “Pollinatorpalooza” by dressing up as bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds and acting out the life of a bee during our special FarmOn! Seed Packet Crafting. Award-winning educator Stephen Ritz from Green Bronx Machine will conduct a pollination workshop to inspire children to grow fresh vegetables/urban farms and learn about sustainable practices and healthy eating.

For more information, visit www.BronxZoo.com or www.farmonfoundation.org.

The Wildlife Conservation Society’s Bronx Zoo is open daily from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. weekdays, 5:30 p.m. weekends from April to October; 10:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m November to March. Adult admission is $19.95, children (3-12 years old) $12.95, children under 3 are free, seniors (65+) are $17.95. Parking is $15 for cars and $18 for buses. The Bronx Zoo is conveniently located off the Bronx River Parkway at Exit 6; by train via the #2 or #5 or by bus via the #9, #12, #19, #22, MetroNorth, or BxM11 Express Bus service (from Manhattan that stops just outside the gate.) To plan your trip, visit bronxzoo.com or call 718-367-1010.

Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) MISSION: WCS saves wildlife and wild places worldwide through science, conservation action, education, and inspiring people to value nature. VISION: WCS envisions a world where wildlife thrives in healthy lands and seas, valued by societies that embrace and benefit from the diversity and integrity of life on earth. To achieve our mission, WCS, based at the Bronx Zoo, harnesses the power of its Global Conservation Program in more than 60 nations and in all the world’s oceans and its five wildlife parks in New York City, visited by 4 million people annually. WCS combines its expertise in the field, zoos, and aquarium to achieve its conservation mission. Visit: www.wcs.org; http://www.facebook.com/TheWCS; http://www.youtube.com/user/WCSMedia  Follow: @thewcs.  

About the FarmOn! Foundation: The FarmOn! Foundation is a 501c3 non-profit organization + public charity that creates and funds youth educational programming and is working to preserve family farming in America. The FarmOn! Foundation is a movement dedicated to bringing awareness to food choices and sources, reinvigorating respect for farming and inspiring young people to choose agricultural careers that will create an economic engine connecting rural and urban marketplaces to build local economies. Join our movement today: http://farmonfoundation.org.

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