Join Us for Our April Events!

The Growing Center Chorus Rehearsals - Open to All!

Two Saturdays: April 23 and 30, 11:00 am - 12:00 pm

First Performance at Spring Garden Day, May 8 Facebook Event

The Growing Center Chorus is new this year! It is open to everyone - adults, children and families. Please come join us for rehearsals in April and for our first performance at Spring Garden Day on May 8! The Chorus will perform two songs during the opening of Spring Garden Day and help to welcome everyone to one of our most popular annual events. During April, the Chorus will learn “This Pretty Planet” (a round) and “It’s Not Easy Being Green.” The Center is hoping to make the Chorus a tradition at our annual events, so come help us get it started!

Music will be provided (and available online). The Growing Center Chorus will be directed by Liza Kitchell, a long-time volunteer at the Center. Ms. Kitchell has been a music teacher and director for over 30 years. (www.lizakitchell.com)

Meditation Meet-Up with Jenn Falk Sunday, April 24, 9-10 am Facebook Event

Nestle on a rock or sit beneath a tree - but come find a quiet spot in the garden and make some time for yourself. Jenn Falk, who leads our yoga practice during the summer, is starting the season off with two Mediation Meet Ups. Take your meditation practice outside this spring, and if you’re new to meditation, Jenn can give you helpful tips. Just being in the garden is a meditation in itself and a chance to renew yourself.

Contact: Jenn Falk at jpyogini@gmail.com

Earth Day/Arbor Day Celebration 2022: Celebrating the Earth and Our Community/ Celebrar la Tierra y nuestra comunidad/ Celebrando a Terra e Nossa Comunidade Sunday, April 24, 2-4 pm (Rain Date Saturday, April 30, 1-3 pm) Facebook Event

Come to the Growing Center and celebrate Earth Day and Arbor Day with members of your community! The event will include an opening ceremony, and an acknowledgement of the history of this land and the people who have been connected to it over time. Alive Dance Collective, local artist Jane Sherrill and Mothers Out Front will lead nature-based art and movement activities for all ages. Learn about opportunities to take action to engage directly with and/or steward the natural world, through the Growing Center and other organizations including Green & Open Somerville, the Climate Coalition of Somerville and the Mystic River Watershed Association.

The Fascinating Bugs of the Growing Center - A Retrospective and Call For Action (ONLINE) Tuesday, April 26, 6:00 pm

Join Claire O'Neill from Earthwise Aware (EwA) for an informal retrospective of the insects and pollinators of the Growing Center. EwA citizen science volunteers have been monitoring the plant and insects of the garden since 2019. Their observations and the data they collect help local conservation programs and fill critical national data needs of our partners including the USA National Phenology Network, and the Caterpillars Count.EwA's virtual retrospective will share photos of the garden's critters, tell the story of the lives of the garden’s insects and their host plants, and explain how to get involved to help them thrive.

Register to attend (free): https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZMod-igqjMiEtNWcxVaQ4OnVbCXcu3v2xIN

Alive Dance Collective Participatory Sessions: Yoga and Storybook or Poems Movement Saturday, April 30, 3-5 pm (Rain Date May 7) Facebook Event

Join Yoga Instructor Alex Nunweiler of Alive Dance Collective for an hour long Yoga Class from 3-4 pm centered around nature and in nature. This class is open to all ages, levels, and abilities. From 4-5 pm, there are two options: Children (recommended ages 5-8) and their caregivers can bring a story to life through all types of fun movement in Storybook Movement with Alive Dance Collective’s Lila Klaus. In this workshop, we’ll begin by reading a story together, and then help it come to life with movement! You can also participate in Poems and Movement with the Collective’s Artistic Director Brenna Banister. Together we’ll read nature themed poetry, write our own poems inspired by the nature around us, and create movement inspired by our poems. No movement or poetry experience required!

Contact: alivedancecollective@gmail.com