Seniors to celebrate Earth Day with green thumb gathering
This month, the raised bed garden at the New Merkel House will be refreshed with new life, as city staff and involved seniors celebrate the coming growing season.
Officially, Earth Day will be celebrated on April 22, but New Merkel House manager Melanie Perry said that the seniors will be holding their now-annual Garden Party on April 20.
For the last few years, seniors at the New Merkel House have celebrated spring and Earth Day by having a special lunch and planting the season’s first tomatoes, herbs, cucumbers and other vegetables in the raised beds behind the center.
The city’s public works department constructed the beds with extra height to allow seniors easy access to take care of the plants, and New Merkel House manager Melanie Perry said the seniors enjoy eating from the garden well into the summer.
This year the green thumbs at the center will have additional help as Cub Scout Den Pack #776 will assist with beautification efforts.
Perry said the scouts will be working on their community enrichment projects by helping with the planters and the landscaping at New Merkel House.
“How special they chose the New Merkel House,” Perry said. “The planters and entryways will be lovely with this fine group’s willingness to volunteer and help.”
OLLI Update
OLLI is preparing for its open house in May, but will continue with its spring programming and a few special events this month..
On April 5 at the Vestavia Hills Library in the Forest, OLLI will have a special presentation, Ice Age Animals of Alabama. The lecture will detail the prehistoric past of the state and look at the efforts currently underway to further study the mammoths and giant ground sloths that once roamed the area. Jun Ebersole, McWane Science Center’s director of collections, will speak at the event, which will begin at 1:30 p.m. in the Community Room.
For more information visit olli.ua.edu.
Senior HAPPENINGS
New Merkel House:
► April 10: Art with Tina
► April 13: Guest speaker Malinda Williams with River Highlands
► April 20: Garden Party
► Lunch is served daily at 11:45 a.m.
► Mondays and Wednesdays: Exercise class at 10:30
► Wednesdays and Fridays: Bingo at 11 a.m.
For more information, contact Melanie Perry at 967-5977.
Other Events
► April 5: Dogwood Luncheon, 11:30 a.m., Vestavia Country Club, $25 advance registration required. Contact Gina Henley at ghenley401@charter.net or 910-4837.
► April 9: Senior Citizens Luncheon, 11:30 a.m., Dogwood Room, For more information call 978-0169.
► April 12: Declutter workshop, 10 a.m., Dogwood Room