The Senior Organic Gardeners program is well underway this year in the area. We have adopted 7 clients, however, some of these groups have extra sub groups so at times we have been advising 12 groups in total. We offered seeds, seedlings, soil, compost, and box beds as far as the budget permitted. Almost all the groups of seniors received printed material in large print with pictures and participated to Zoom workshops with PowerPoint presentations and following Q&A. Q&A can be quite interesting and keeps us alert!

Fourteen Zoom workshops have been completed so far, each one designed to meet the needs of a specific group; one workshop had 3 translators (Russian, Mandarin, & Arabic). Some of the Zooms workshops were recorded – after addressing the privacy issue – and the recordings shared. We also did live demos on video and plan to do more.

Chelsea has coordinated the 7 contacts and managed the budget, procuring and delivering supplies for Ontario and Quebec, respecting the safety measures required by each province.

We are working on programming and funding for 2022 and beyond! The fundraising events in 2021 were successful: the Organic Seed Sale and the Gardening Symposium. We thank everyone for their donations and sponsorships.

SOG helps seniors overcome many types of deficits and disorders with organic gardening and good food. If you would like to support and encourage SOG, there are many options: single or monthly donations on-line (please designate SOG!), sponsoring a new SOG website or SOG Guide, or offering a Gift in Memory (Donate). If you wish to have a look at the SOG website to see what you would be supporting, click on Donate.

The SOG Advisory Group welcomes a new member, Hazel Patterson who has been involved in the SOG Model 2 program and is an avid gardener, full of fundraising ideas. Welcome, Hazel!

SOG St-Lawrence is searching for a volunteer in the Kingston area to liaise with the SOG Program Manager and Gardening Coach as well as the COG-OSO Steering Committee. If you know someone who might have an interest, please get in touch with Margaret at: sog.margaret@gmail.com