About

Jenine Osbon

Jenine began her educational career teaching history at a high school in Brooklyn over fifteen years ago. It was then that she realized the necessity of interdisciplinary, hands-on learning, so as to help students connect more readily to the content they are studying. After pursuing her second bachelor’s degree in Environmental Studies, Jenine landed at Brooklyn Botanic Garden where she blossomed into a zealous and confident gardener. As the Children’s Garden Coordinator she was responsible for overseeing and maintaining a 1-acre urban garden offering programming to hundreds of children ages 2-18 every year. During her time at BBG she helped to create and implement a myriad of botanical and horticultural curricula, all with the goal of inspiring curiosity about the natural world and making garden-based learning more accessible and experiential both within the classroom and outside in the real world. She is thrilled to bring her passion for education and nature to her Catskills community.

The land

Prior to the American Revolution, the Mohawk Indians were the main inhabitants of this region. In the late 19th century, this particular plot of land was farmed by German immigrants. After passing through several more hands, Jenine and her family landed here in 2016. It is now once again planted with a 1/2 acre of both perennial and annual food plants. Our growing practices aim to enrich the earth and avoid chemical inputs. In order to reduce weeding and tillage, we have worked to build healthy garden beds by sheet mulching. We continue to plant various native flowers to attract pollinators, and we amend the soil with compost, minerals, and cover crops, and utilize crop rotation to keep plants healthy.