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Somerset County proclaims Horticultural Therapy Week and National Agriculture Day, awards cultural grants
Summary
At the meeting the commissioners read county and state proclamations recognizing National Horticultural Therapy Awareness Week and National Agriculture Day, and the county's Cultural and Heritage Commission presented Local Arts Program grants to a range of nonprofit and municipal arts groups.
The Somerset County Board of County Commissioners used part of its meeting to issue proclamations for National Horticultural Therapy Awareness Week and National Agriculture Day and to present 2025 Local Arts Program (LAP) grant checks to local arts organizations and municipalities.
Commissioners read a county proclamation declaring March 16–22 as National Horticultural Therapy Awareness Week, citing historical and contemporary uses of gardening and plant-based programs for health and wellness and noting Somerset County programs that include services through senior wellness programs and the Richard Hall Community Health and Wellness Center. Assemblyman DeBam, representing the state legislature sponsors, presented a joint resolution from the New Jersey Senate and General Assembly commemorating the tenth anniversary of New Jersey Horticultural Therapy Week.
The county also proclaimed March 21, 2025, as National Agriculture Day in Somerset County, highlighting the county Agricultural Development Board’s work preserving farmland, supporting agritourism and agricultural education, and a planned visit to McAfee Road School in Franklin Township to demonstrate farm recycling and dairy farm operations.
During a grant presentation, Katie Himicks, program coordinator for the Somerset County Cultural and Heritage Commission, announced the 2025 LAP grantees and presented checks. Recipients on hand included the Adult Day Center of Somerset County ($6,350 special project support); Bernards Township Parks and Recreation ($7,000 special project); the Center for Cultural and Creative Exchange ($8,000 special project); friends of the Kennedy Martin Stelling Farmstead ($30,000 general operating); Light Opera of New Jersey ($16,000 general operating); Music in the Somerset Hills ($19,000 general operating); Raritan Valley Symphonic Band ($5,000 general operating); Somerset Symphony Orchestra ($8,500 general operating); New School for Music Study ($6,300 special project); and Ubuntu Cultural Pavilion ($6,675 special project). Several re‑grantees not present were acknowledged, including American Theater Group ($19,000), New Jersey Arts Incubator ($11,000), Rag Rang ($5,000), Bridal Valley Coral Society ($2,000), Somerset Valley Players ($19,000), and the Ukrainian History and Education Center ($20,175).
The meeting later recognized Bound Brook Revitalization Partnership as a 2025 LAP grantee receiving $11,000 for special project support.
Speakers at the event emphasized horticultural therapy’s benefits across age groups and settings and thanked local partners including the Somerset County Business Partnership, the Farm Bureau and adult day centers for program support. No formal vote was required for the proclamations and grant presentations.
