Tiling Glory

NAME OF FEATURE | THE GLEANER | SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 27, 2020 15 IX SENIOR CITIZE S’ WEEK M ORE THAN 60 senior cit- izens signed up to take part in the GET Farming and YES! Farm Competitions (Get Elders Trained and Youth Engaging Seniors) which is being hosted by the Ministry of Labour and Social Security’s National Council for Senior Citizens (NCSC). The farming aspect of the compe- titions, launched in July, will end in October. The competitors include senior citizens 60 years and older and their younger relatives. The Government’s recommendations for senior citizens to remain at home to reduce their risk of coronavirus infection birthed the idea of inviting seniors and their grandchildren to engage in farming at home. In the GET Farming competition, seniors are the sole participants, while in the YES! Farming com- petition, seniors farm with their young relatives, ages seven to 13 years old. Farming is done in vari- ous spaces at home, including on rooftops, backyards, front yards, the sides of houses and in containers. All participants begin with seeds and seedlings of cabbage, Scotch bonnet pepper, beetroot, Jerusalem peas and watermelon. The competition is multifaceted and includes farming, a jingle com- petition and a culinary competition for the use of produce from farm to plate, farm to bowl and farm to glass. Seniors who are interested in par- ticipating in backyard farming are encouraged to contact the NCSC. Resilient seniors enter farming competition Anthony Davis and Seheaven Roman, St Andrew. Kenneth Brown, Joe Hut, Trelawny. Enid Deacon hard at work at her backyard garden in Portland