Southbury Garden Club Announces 2018 Scholarship Winner

The Southbury Garden Club recently announced Summer Lynch of Southbury as this year’s recipient of the one thousand dollar Harriet Koons Memorial Scholarship,

Summer is a senior at SUNY Cobbleskill College of Agriculture and Natural Resources where she plans to earn a Bachelor of Technology degree with a major in Agricultural Business Management and a minor in Agricultural Education. She is a graduate of Nonnewaug High School which had been a life-long goal.

Summer said: ”I’ve always had a passion for all areas of agriculture, from plants, livestock, and bees, to whole farm-to-table process.” Her college studies have exposed her every aspect of the agricultural business and has given her hands-on experience in fields including: vegetable production; botany; sustainable agriculture; soil science; organic growing techniques; horticulture crop production; plant anatomy and identification. Many of these classes were hands on, focused learning in the college’s greenhouses.

At SUNY she has also learned the business aspect of the industry, learning to estimate fixed and variable costs; creating balance sheets, income statements and cash flow statements.

After graduation, Summer plans to obtain a master’s degree in Agricultural Education and hopes to teach at an agricultural college or work with the Connecticut State Cooperative Extension where she can share her knowledge and love of agriculture, especially with today’s youth. She says: “Farms of all sizes are the backbone of this country and I want to dedicate my career to educating people about why humanity could not survive without them.”

For the past seven years Summer was a familiar face at Robin Starshak’s Produce Stand on Main Street in Southbury. She is currently an intern at Shortt’s Farm and Garden Center in Sandy Hook where, as part of her degree requirements, she is gaining knowledge in the latest developments in agricultural production, maintenance and sales.

The Harriet Koons Memorial Scholarship, named in memory of a former Southbury Garden Club president, is awarded annually to a high school senior or college student who is a Southbury resident majoring in horticulture or a related field.

Applicants must plan to enter a field that is compatible with the club’s goals of promoting an interest in horticulture, furthering the conservation of natural resources, and increasing knowledge in the artistic use of plant material.