Building Tourism’s Future One Apple Eating Kid At A Time

I love our fruit and produce industry but I have always believed that tourism dollars are great for the economy of the Yakima Valley.  People come here, bring cash, spend it enjoying what we already have and then leave without leaving behind pollution, waste, or any real impacts of any kind...except for that cash!

And here's the best part.  If everyone in the Yakima Valley is friendly, encouraging, and informative, those tourists will not only come back again (with that cash), they will tell their friends about what a good time they had and they'll come along too.   So it's important that all of us locals know as much as possible about our fruit industries and tourism attractions in an effort to be gracious and INFORMED hosts.

  So, Start 'Em Young

So I think it's awesome to teach kids about the tasty king of the country orchard, the Apple!

Yakima County's Master Gardener Youth Team will be handing out  "Amazing Apple" Kids' Activity kits at the Downtown Farmers' Market at 9 am on July 25th.  The kit packets include materials to make a 3D apple from construction paper along with puzzles, stickers, fun facts, and garden seeds.

The Master Gardener Youth Team will be giving away the kits on a first come-first served basis until the 100 kids'  Amazing Apples activity packets and juice boxes are gone.

Master Gardeners Are Everywhere

The Extension Master Gardener (EMG) program was started in 1972 in Washington state when Dr. David Gibby trained volunteers with a passion for gardening to assist in spreading consumer horticulture education in the community.  Today, Extension Master Gardener programs exist with more than 86,076 volunteers in 49 states as well as in the District of Columbia, several Canadian provinces, and South Korea.

Special thanks to Tree Top for donating juice boxes to the Farmer's Market giveaway!