Concert Will Raise Funds for CCS Garden Programming

By SARAH ROBERTS
COOPERSTOWN

On Sunday, June 8, a benefit concert by the duo “Cello, World” will be held at The Otesaga Resort Hotel to raise money in support of Cooperstown Central School’s Kid Garden. The following Monday, June 9, a free encore will be performed for students at the school.

The goals of the Kid Garden are:

• To design, implement and sustain a complete year-round garden-based curriculum for K-6 students to supplement classroom learning in all subject areas.
• To provide each member of the Cooperstown School community access to an engaging, interactive and highly collaborative nature-based learning environment.
• To implement the 12 guiding permaculture principles within CCSD, thereby building community resilience, establishing food security and expanding our collective knowledge of the land right underneath our feet.

“The garden offers hands-on skills for both students and teachers,” said Shelby MacLeish, Kid Garden coordinator. “While some students have their own gardens at home, many do not. Most have never tasted raw spinach, lettuce or herbs before. Just last week, a student mentioned how surprising it was that he liked spinach and kept going back for more. He was the same student who fell in love with dill last year.

“Walking around the garden with me gives kids the opportunity to dig in the dirt, taste arugula, or pick up an insect,” MacLeish said.

In 2008, Antoinette “T’nette” Kuzminski, Dick deRosa, Lisa Lippitt and Kristen Griger came together to plant the seeds for the Kid Garden.

According to its mission statement, “The Kid Garden provides a place for our school community to experience the wonder and beauty of nature. By reintroducing the study of agriculture in our schools, students will gain an understanding of where food comes from, witness the delicate balance that nature creates within a garden, and provide access to hands-on-learning to enrich all areas of classroom study.

“Through work and exploration, participants will acquire important skills and an appreciation for the environment that will spark an interest in making healthy choices and living sustainably,” the mission statement reads.

For MacLeish, the program is a year-round project. During school months, teachers at CCS can sign up for lessons inside the classroom or out in the garden with MacLeish, who hosts three to five gardening classes a week. An afterschool Garden Club meets twice weekly—on Mondays for kindergarteners through third-graders, and Wednesday for fourth- through sixth-graders. Food grown is used for cooking projects at the school or donated to the Cooperstown Food Pantry.

The garden “provides produce for the students, school and community, according to MacLeish.

“Students in the after-school program often take a carrot or radish home, and if we have lots of lettuce we send it in for the school cafeteria. Students are always encouraged to taste during lessons,” MacLeish explained.

During the summer break, students participating in the Clark Sports Center’s day camps and the Red Bursey summer program help out with the garden as well.

“Students spend a lot of time seated and looking at screens. Time spent in the garden provides a perfect break from this routine,” according to MacLeish.

The concerts on June 8 and 9 are in memory of T’nette Kuzminski, a longtime Bassett Healthcare physician, lifelong grower and gardener who passed away in August 2024. Kuzminski was also a director of Sustainable Otsego, an organization created to encourage “sustainability, economic independence and home rule.” A tree dedicated to Kuzminski’s memory stands next to the garden, “protect[ing] the space,” according to a Facebook post by the Kid Garden team.

“The Cooperstown Kid Garden is a true asset to the community,” concluded MacLeish. “Having a space where our children can connect with the origins of their food is invaluable. We are working diligently to integrate the garden into the curriculum in Cooperstown and hope that, in the future, more students from all grade levels will participate in this space.”

The concert at The Otesaga on June 8 will begin at 4 p.m. Tickets are $50.00 per person and include admission to the performance and a reception afterward.

The concert features Susanna Mendlow, Kuzminski’s niece, and her partner, Devree Lewis, who perform under the name “Cello, World.” Proceeds will go toward the creation of a year-round garden structure. MacLeish is currently working with a school-based committee to decide what the structure will look like and how it will be integrated into the curriculum.

Adrian Kuzminski, husband of T’nette, praised the Cooperstown Kid Garden, saying, “It’s kind of a wonderful local program—it’s a nice supplement. A hands-on things for kids at the school. Instead of looking at their screens so much, it gets them outside.

“It’s a nice tribute to my wife, who was very instrumental in keeping it alive,” he reflected.

The free encore concert for CCS students will kick off a school-wide Garden Day celebration on Monday, June 8.