Adult day program participants help Fellows garden, and themselves

YOUNGSTOWN

Amber Crago excitedly ran up to people Wednesday, grabbing them by the hand and pulling them toward the glass-enclosed area where bees are kept at Fellows Riverside Gardens.

Crago, a member of the Mahoning County Board of Developmental Disabilities’ Bev Road Mahoning County Adult Services Co. day program, and other members come to Fellows every week in the summer to help tend an area called the Family Garden.

“They’ve done a lot here,” said Paul Iden, MCBDD planning and development coordinator. “It’s nice because it gets them out. ... It gets them involved in the community.”

The program, which began eight years ago, is led by Mill Creek MetroParks educator Lori Mowad, who works on different tasks with the group each week, such as planting bulbs, mulching, watering plants and taking care of weeds.

“They love to plant. And they love to taste. So once everything comes into bloom, they get to harvest and taste things,” Mowad said.

Recently the group got to sample some homemade orange juice, and then make treats for birds out of the leftover orange peels.

Read more about the program and the group's activities in Thursday's Vindicator or on Vindy.com.