The JCC Community Wellness Fair

Assistant Social Services Director Barbara Watson (right) with Master Gardeners (left to right) Linda Neilson and Kay Clapp

The Water Wise Team was busy preparing and hosting a tour of our Water Wise garden at the JCC Human Services Center (5249 Olde Towne Rd.) for the JCC Community Wellness Fair on September 10, 2022.

The Fair was a great success with approximately 300 people visiting our Water Wise garden. Master Gardeners Kay Clapp and Linda Neilson had 57 adult visits to the JCCW Master Gardener booth and delighted over 35 children in a garden lesson on butterflies.

The booth before the Wellness Fair opened

Project Lead and Master Gardener Elvin Clapp conducted 15 personalized tours where visitors showed special interest in the beautyberries, rain lilies, and coneflowers. Virginia State Senator Monte Mason stopped by the booth and expressed his support for the garden. The Water Wise team also connected with several Boy Scout and Girl Scout leaders who shared an interest in organizing service projects to support the garden in the future.

As part of our mission to educate, the Master Gardeners provided copies of a new Water Wise brochure prepared by the team and printed in both English and Spanish. Another colorful handout they developed identified the blooms, berries, foliage, and stems during the garden’s four seasons.

Kay Clapp also designed a special display on “Have You Spotted This?” focusing on the life cycle of the spotted lanternfly. This drew a lot of interest from attendees who indicated that this was their first exposure to this pest. All in all, it was a great day to support the community and the Water Wise Team is looking forward to its next community event.

Photos by Elvin Clapp, Class of 2018