Green thumbs up
Published 12:29 am Thursday, February 23, 2012
It may be winter but that doesn’t mean the Niles Community Gardens green thumbs aren’t keeping busy.
Six community gardens members gathered Wednesday for a nutrition class, led by community gardens organizer Mark VanTil and Renee Harris, a Michigan State University Extension program associate.
“You’ve been growing healthy things. Now we want to eat healthy,” Harris said.
Wednesday’s class was the second of several classes to be held between now and the end of April. The next class will take place at 6 p.m. Monday at Northside Child Development Center.
Harris taught on healthy portion sizes, before VanTil gave a cooking demonstrationon caramelizing onions, using olive oil, sugar, salt and butter.
VanTil says the community gardens group isn’t just about learning gardening skills but also what to do with the harvest. The group spends time sharing recipes and discussing gardening and health and wellness topics.