Take the Community Asset Survey. Tell the Department of Health and Putnam Hospital Center where resources would best be spent to develop a healthier community. Only four questions, quick to complete! If you live or work in Putnam County, visit www.putnamcountyny.com to take survey. Results will help form a Community Health Improvement Plan.

Custom Feed – Putnam NY Events Calendar -

During opening weekend, May 18 and 19, Friends of the Kent Library sponsor a hand-selected Arts Book Sale of both bargains and collector items adjacent to the exhibit gallery.

Admission is free.

Custom Feed – Putnam NY Events Calendar -

Take the Community Asset Survey. Tell the Department of Health and Putnam Hospital Center where resources would best be spent to develop a healthier community. Only four questions, quick to complete! If you live or work in Putnam County, visit www.putnamcountyny.com to take survey. Results will help form a Community Health Improvement Plan.

Custom Feed – Putnam NY Events Calendar -

Register now for Families Growing Together

Do you want to provide healthier food for your family? Fight the childhood obesity epidemic? Then take a “Step Up 2 Health” with Families Growing Together, a year-long gardening program for 20 Putnam families with children. The program which is funded by United Way of Westchester and Putnam, is open to 20 Putnam County families with children.

You and your children will learn how to design your vegetable garden, grow vegetables from seed, nurture your plants – and your family - and harvest your crops at their best.  Your children will have fun too, with gardening games and activities, hands-on science experiments and kid-friendly recipes your children can prepare for themselves.

Each family gets its own 20′ x 20′ garden plot for a year in the Tilly Foster Farm Community Garden in Brewster, NY.  Every month, starting October 25th, you and your children will learn something new about growing food and eating healthier. You’ll have a Master Gardener volunteer mentor with you every step of the way.

We’ll work with nature’s calendar: you and your family will prepare your garden in the fall, learn about plants in winter, and then start growing your crops in the spring.  And while we only meet as a group once a month, you can work in your garden as often as you like. Classes will be held either at the Putnam County Don Smith Campus in Carmel or in the garden at Tilly Foster Farm in Brewster.

What do families receive when joining Families Growing Together?

• A family garden plot for the year at Tilly Foster Farm Community Garden in Brewster, NY
• Monthly classes in soil, starting from seed, selecting plants, designing a garden, planting the garden
• A Master Gardener volunteer mentor to guide you throughout the year
• Kid-friendly science learning
• Fun activity books for the kids
• Nutrition lessons and cooking demonstrations
• Lessons in weeding and organic pest controls
• Harvesting tips

The cost for the year-long program is only $ 40 per family, which includes all classroom and garden education, mentoring by Master Gardener volunteers and a 20′ x 20′ plot in the Community Garden.  For more information, call 845-278-6738.  Registration and all program information is available online: http://counties.cce.cornell.edu/putnam/FGT%20brochure%20four%20panel%20recruitment%20brochure%202012-13.pdf

Custom Feed – Putnam NY Events Calendar -

During opening weekend, May 18 and 19, Friends of the Kent Library sponsor a hand-selected Arts Book Sale of both bargains and collector items adjacent to the exhibit gallery.

Admission is free.

Custom Feed – Putnam NY Events Calendar -

Take the Community Asset Survey. Tell the Department of Health and Putnam Hospital Center where resources would best be spent to develop a healthier community. Only four questions, quick to complete! If you live or work in Putnam County, visit www.putnamcountyny.com to take survey. Results will help form a Community Health Improvement Plan.

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1.Obesity

According to the World Health Organization, obesity is a public health risk. Children today weigh more than at any time in our history. According to 2005 statistics, at least 20 million children under the age of five were overweight. Talk to your children about the problems that obesity can bring. Hypertension, diabetes, respiratory problems, lack of energy and even heart disease can all be brought on by carrying an excess amount of weight. Teach your family to make smart choices about diet and exercise, even when you aren’t around to watch.

2.Influenza

Teaching your family good habits can help them avoid the ravages of the flu this season. Along with receiving a flu vaccine, sanitary practices can help keep the illness at bay. Show your children how to sneeze and cough into a tissue, advise them to wash their hands after they touch any surface or other person, and gently remind your children, as often as it takes, to stop touching their faces.

3.Disasters

Earthquakes and other disasters are considered a public health concern. Does your family have an emergency plan? If not, there’s no better time than the present to create one. Look online for tips on how to create a disaster preparedness plan for your family. Each person that lives in your house should know how to get out of the house, where to meet in the case of an emergency and how to dial 911.

4.Terrorism

Terrorism is a very real public health risk for everyone in our country. If your children are old enough to have a conversation about terrorism with resultant nightmares or anxiety, sit them down and discuss what terrorism means and what it may entail. Your family should know how to respond in the case of such an emergency. Advise your children that no matter where they are, it’s important to follow the directions of police and other emergency personnel.

5.West Nile Virus

West Nile Virus has taken a backseat to the flu recently, but it’s still a very real risk. West Nile can cause severe illness and, in some cases, death. Be sure that your children know not to play near standing water and to alert you to such pools in the yard and neighborhood. Make sure your children know to never touch a dead animal. If your kids are going to be outside playing in the late afternoon and evening, apply a bug repellant to their skin and clothing to decrease the risk of mosquito bites.

If you don’t talk to your family about public health risks, they’ll be uninformed and unsafe. You can find a current listing of public health risks on the CDC website to determine what you need to speak to your family about. Look at the list, sit down and have a conversation; education is your most powerful weapon.

Writer Tracy Rentz posts articles about health awareness on several health blogs. At the University of Southern California you can earn a degree in public health and work educating people about healthy, safe living.

By: Anne Chan

Take the Community Asset Survey. Tell the Department of Health and Putnam Hospital Center where resources would best be spent to develop a healthier community. Only four questions, quick to complete! If you live or work in Putnam County, visit www.putnamcountyny.com to take survey. Results will help form a Community Health Improvement Plan.

Custom Feed – Putnam NY Events Calendar -

Custom Feed – Putnam NY Events Calendar -

Register now for Families Growing Together

Do you want to provide healthier food for your family? Fight the childhood obesity epidemic? Then take a “Step Up 2 Health” with Families Growing Together, a year-long gardening program for 20 Putnam families with children. The program which is funded by United Way of Westchester and Putnam, is open to 20 Putnam County families with children.

You and your children will learn how to design your vegetable garden, grow vegetables from seed, nurture your plants – and your family - and harvest your crops at their best.  Your children will have fun too, with gardening games and activities, hands-on science experiments and kid-friendly recipes your children can prepare for themselves.

Each family gets its own 20′ x 20′ garden plot for a year in the Tilly Foster Farm Community Garden in Brewster, NY.  Every month, starting October 25th, you and your children will learn something new about growing food and eating healthier. You’ll have a Master Gardener volunteer mentor with you every step of the way.

We’ll work with nature’s calendar: you and your family will prepare your garden in the fall, learn about plants in winter, and then start growing your crops in the spring.  And while we only meet as a group once a month, you can work in your garden as often as you like. Classes will be held either at the Putnam County Don Smith Campus in Carmel or in the garden at Tilly Foster Farm in Brewster.

What do families receive when joining Families Growing Together?

• A family garden plot for the year at Tilly Foster Farm Community Garden in Brewster, NY
• Monthly classes in soil, starting from seed, selecting plants, designing a garden, planting the garden
• A Master Gardener volunteer mentor to guide you throughout the year
• Kid-friendly science learning
• Fun activity books for the kids
• Nutrition lessons and cooking demonstrations
• Lessons in weeding and organic pest controls
• Harvesting tips

The cost for the year-long program is only $ 40 per family, which includes all classroom and garden education, mentoring by Master Gardener volunteers and a 20′ x 20′ plot in the Community Garden.  For more information, call 845-278-6738.  Registration and all program information is available online: http://counties.cce.cornell.edu/putnam/FGT%20brochure%20four%20panel%20recruitment%20brochure%202012-13.pdf

Custom Feed – Putnam NY Events Calendar -