Catskill Regional Medical Center Foundation held a fundraising event for the enhancement the Woodland Wildlings Garden on September 5, 2019 at Catskill Regional Medical Center, in Harris NY.
“The Woodland Wildlings Restoration Fund has been established to make the garden more accessible and a destination for health and renewal,” said Chief Executive Officer Jonathan Schiller.
The event raised over $8,000 and included a $5,000 donation presented by the Liberty Garden Club. To date, the project has raised nearly $22,000 in local grants and donations.
Those who attended the fundraiser event enjoyed an evening of relaxation and celebration in all that the beautiful gardens have to offer. Shirley Hornbeck, Catskill Regional Medical Center Auxiliary President, and long-time volunteer, was honored for her service to Catskill Regional Medical Center.
Through these fundraising efforts, the Catskill Regional Medical Center Foundation plans to expand and grow the gardens, back patio and walking trails to further provide comfort and tranquility for patients, visitors and employees.
Once complete, the newly enhanced 1+ acre garden will provide unique seasonal experiences. The proposed plan includes maintained, wheelchair accessible pathways with seating throughout; manicured lawn areas; old growth trees; three designated areas of unique foliage: shade, a compost zone for growing plants; a sun zone; native shrub thicket; flagstone sitting area with umbrella tables; a water feature and a pergola with swings. A network of fitness trails traversing the entire Catskill Regional Medical Center campus will also be established to promote both employee and community health.
The gardens at Catskill Regional Medical Center first blossomed in the 1980s, under the loving trowels of Ms. Beatrice Brender and a few local green thumbs. For many years, devoted members and master gardeners of the Community Garden Club of Liberty cared for and enhanced the garden. Their effort to beautify an otherwise ordinary hillside behind the hospital began modestly, with a bed of daffodils trumpeting the arrival of something new and beautiful.
Two decades and many new flower beds later, the National Council of State Garden Clubs registered the Beatrice Brender Memorial Woodland Wildlings Garden in the National Directory of Arboreta & Botanical Gardens. By 2014, the garden had grown to receive a first prize for “Preservation of Beauty” from the Federated Garden Clubs of New York State.
For more information, or to make a donation to the Woodland Wildlings Restoration Fund, visit www.crmcny.org/giving.
About Catskill Regional Medical Center, Inc.
The Catskill Regional Medical Center Foundation, Inc. is a voluntary, not-for-profit organization whose purpose is to render assistance to and raise funds for Catskill Regional Medical Center; to underwrite the costs of equipment for lifesaving, diagnosis, therapy, care and cure; to help support the delivery of health care to the needy, ill and infirm; to help support health screenings for health maintenance and disease prevention; and to help support community health care services.
The Catskill Regional Medical Center, Inc. is governed by a Board of Trustees, volunteers who contribute their time and talents to further the purposes of the organization. If you are interested in serving on the Foundation Board, call 845-794-3300, ext. 2104.