Teen's Donation Starts Nursery School Garden

The following is user-generated news. Log in and click here to post your own news to Patch.

Thirteen-year-old Alex Mazer was looking for a meaningful Bar Mitzvah project. His goals were twofold: to help the environment and connect with his younger sisters.

Mazer found the answer in the Temple Israel Center (T.I.C.) Nursery School.

“I believe that helping the environment is important and younger generations should learn about it so they can help our future,” said Mazer, who lives in White Plains. “If they participate at a young age, they’ll be more eager to help as adults.”

Through the donation of funds from his Bar Mitzvah gifts, Mazer purchased flower beds and plants to create the school’s first garden. The new garden seamlessly integrates within the school’s dynamic curriculum, which includes nature and science. Each month, a Nature Specialist visits the school to teach the children about the ecological wisdom inherent in Judaism. The new garden will provide the children meaningful, hands-on experiences with organic gardening.

T.I.C. Nursery School Director Patty Goldstick was thrilled with Mazer’s gift.

“We are so excited to have a garden in the school,” said Goldstick. “Along with the fun of getting dirty, gardening helps children learn valuable lessons about patience as they wait for vegetables to grow, responsibility as they see how necessary their care is to the garden, and even loss when flowers die at the end of a season. They learn about nurturing a life and what it takes to keep something alive; they see firsthand where food comes from and develop an understanding and appreciation of the natural environment as well asresponsibility to the earth.”

Last week, the entire Nursery School community was invited to help Mazer fill the new flower beds, transplanting mums, cabbages and pansies. Mazer's younger sisters along with several other nursery school children were all smiles as they got their hands filthy, touching the earth and making a difference one seed (or plant) at a time.

Affiliated with a vibrant, fully egalitarian Conservative congregation, the T.I.C. Nursery School has served White Plains and the surrounding areas for more than 60 years.

T.I.C.’s Rabbis, Cantor and Family Education Director participate in Nursery School activities, adding depth and richness to the overall program. The T.I.C. Nursery School is licensed by the New York State Office of Children and Family Services, and is an active participant in the Jewish Education Project, the Jewish Early Childhood Association (JECA), the Westchester Association for the Education of Young Children and the Early Childhood Educators of United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism. The Nursery School uses only green cleaning products and is a completely nut-free and allergy sensitive environment.

For more information about Temple Israel Center (T.I.C.) Nursery School, contact Nursery School Director Patty Goldstick, at 914-948-2800, ext. 126 or at p.goldstick@templeisraelcenter.org