Family Farmacy: Gaciers and Alpine Ecology for Intl. Day of Mountains

A hands-on, intergenerational journey into mountains, meltwater, and alpine plants.

Mountains are the water towers of the world, holding nearly 70% of our planet’s freshwater in glaciers. As global temperatures rise, these ancient ice reserves melt faster than they should—impacting water, food, energy, and the lives of billions. This International Mountain Day, join us for a joyful journey into the mountains with Family Farmacy to explorie why glaciers matter for plants, water, food, and livelihoods—in the mountains and here at home.

Together, we’ll learn how glacial melt shapes rivers and farms, meet the hardy plants that thrive in alpine regions, taste foods grown in glacier-fed valleys, and imagine our own roles as caretakers of a warming world.

❄️ Glacier-in-a-Jar Demonstration & Ice Exploration Table

Watch how colored ice “glaciers” melt into rivers, seep through soil, and carve miniature landscapes. A playful way to understand watersheds, melt patterns, and why glacier loss matters. Then, melt through ice blocks holding natural treasures using salt, brushes, and warm water. A mesmerizing way to understand thawing ice and rapid melt.

🌱 Alpine Plant Discovery + “Grow Your Own” Station

Meet the resilient plants that survive wind, cold, and intense sun at high altitudes. Explore mountain textures and scents, then plant your own alpine-inspired herb or succulent to take home. Join in building a mini alpine garden filled with cold-loving species. Reflect: What helps you stay resilient through change?

🧊 Foods from Glacier-Fed Regions & Mountain Love Tea Making

Look at and sample ingredients grown in mountain cultures—from Andean potatoes to Himalayan barley and orchard fruits—while learning how meltwater nourishes fields and families around the world. Then, create your own herbal tea blend of some of our favorite medicinal herbals that grow on mountains!

🗺️ Glacial Landforms Art Table: Who Depends on Glaciers?

Create collages inspired by glaciers, moraines, ridges, and meltwater pathways using natural textures, cool-toned watercolors, papers, and stones. As you make art, Discover how communities from the Andes to the Himalayas—and even NYC through our Catskills watershed—rely on glaciers for drinking water, farming, and energy.

Growing family wellness through plants and play.

Food is medicine—and the garden is our classroom! Through hands-on exploration across the Greenhouse & Education Center’s learning garden, greenhouse, and teaching kitchen, Family Farmacy invites families to learn together about how plants support healthy bodies, curious minds, and open hearts. Each week, families will engage in joyful, drop-in workshops where they can grow, make, and taste their way through seasonal lessons in gardening, herbalism, cooking, and plant-based arts. From crafting home remedies and harvesting herbs, to cooking garden-fresh meals and making nature-inspired art, children and caregivers alike will discover how to care for themselves, each other, and the earth.

Note: We very generously interpret family here at the greenhouse. We know that welcoming everyone of all ages makes us storng and vibrant. Elders, children, youth, young adults–everyone is welcome and appreciated. We know that caregivers come in many forms–chosen family, birth family, those who need the love of family are all welcome.

Workshops are rain or shine.

Accessibility: Our kitchen/classroom space is wheelchair accessible. With prior planning, we can add a few small mats onto the pebbled ground of greenhouse to make a small wheel-chair accessible path. Our learning garden has grass paths, and the entrance is through a gate with a small, raised entrance. Our tables can be lowered/raised, and we have several backless benches or stools. Our kitchen is in regular use, and while we try to cook without peanuts, much of our cookware is shared and we cannot guarantee a nut-free environment. We have a first aid kit, and the closest AED is in another building several yards away. Drinking water is made available in refillable pitchers.

When inside the greenhouse and kitchen we will open our double-doors and windows to vent the space and encourage masking and social distancing when in more closed-in spaces.

Our closest bathrooms are a building away, about a one-minute walk. A gender neutral bathroom is also available, and this is accessible by key which you can request from staff. We are not a scent-free zone, and because herbalism classes take place here, cannot guarantee that the site will be clear of any essential oil smells. If you have needs not addressed here, please reach out to Mallory Craig at mcraig@thehort.org.