Soon after spring’s arrival, Chelsea Senior Center’s Trinh Pifer Intergenerational Garden will be buzzing with the “Read and Seed” activity shared by seniors and Chelsea Community Preschool students.

Read & Seed, April 2 and 3, kickstarts Chelsea Senior Center’s intergenerational programming for the garden season. Seniors who love interacting with young children are invited to volunteer to read garden books to preschoolers and guide them on the sowing of seeds.

“The kids are enthusiastic and curious gardeners,” says Laura Noble, longtime volunteer for the intergenerational garden. “It’s always a treat for us seniors to connect with little children. The positive interactions with seniors help boost kids’ self-confidence.”

Sharing a campus at the Washington Street Education Center affords the Chelsea Senior Center members and the preschoolers this unique opportunity to easily connect in the garden. Teachers bring their students back to check on their crops and taste early produce. The ultimate excitement is when food from this earliest Read and Seed planting activity is used in Camp Gabika summer day camp cooking classes and by seniors who enjoy the senior center’s nutritious daily lunches and free farm stand.

Volunteers are needed throughout the spring-to-fall growing season to aid in the sowing, harvest and upkeep of the garden and hoop house. Contact the Chelsea Senior Center to volunteer at (734) 475-9242 or at connected@chelseaseniors.org.