LYNN — The Demakes Family YMCA’s roof has had a complete makeover with the construction of its new rooftop garden. The roof of the building is now filled with crate gardens that kids at the YMCA can manage.
At the Demakes Family YMCA, nutrition-and-healthy-eating education is already offered to children, Demakes Family YMCA Senior Branch Executive Andrea Baez said.
“Along with our free meals program and cooking classes in our healthy-eating kitchen, the rooftop garden will be a core part of our efforts to tackle food insecurity and promote healthy living,” Baez said.
The Demakes Family YMCA will also be sending a team up to Vermont next week to learn how to farm, she said.
“They can learn how to appropriately teach our young people what they are growing and how they can utilize that produce,” Baez said.
Demakes Family YMCA Facilities Director Niko Kostopoulos and Assistant Facilities Director Billy Smiddy have been taking day-to-day care of the garden.
YMCA of Metro North President and CEO Kathleen Walsh said the garden provides an opportunity for kids to learn the seed-to-table concept.
“They grow it, they nurture it, then they cook it in a healthy recipe so that we can continue to help improve the health and wellness of the folks in Lynn and the surrounding communities,” Walsh said.
The idea to create the rooftop garden, which was built by the Connolly Brothers, has been around since the Demakes Family YMCA was built two years ago, she said.
“What we ended up with on the roof is a combination of crate gardens, an area where people, members, and staff can kind of reflect and relax, and also a space that can be used as an entertainment area,” Walsh said. “It’s a tranquil environment, and it’s really beautiful.”
The garden area has around 160 crate gardens, as well as some additional garden beds outside of the building, she said. The Demakes Family YMCA hopes to double that number next year.
YMCA of Metro North hosted the grand opening of the rooftop garden at the Demakes Family YMCA Wednesday evening.
YMCA of Metro North Board of Directors Chair Andrew Demakes said that the rooftop garden has been “a long time coming.”
“Everybody thinks that the YMCA is a gym-and-swim and that’s all it is. And this is proof that it’s not,” Demakes said. “Something like this promotes entrepreneurship, sustainability, and introduces children to different cultures. There’s just so many things that this represents.”
Demakes said it makes him happy to see something like the garden be available to kids.
“We’re not going to stop here, we’re going to go right into the music studio and we’re going to need everybody’s support for that as well,” Demakes said.
Mayor Jared Nicholson said at the grand opening that the Demakes Family YMCA plays a critical role for the city’s community.
“[Lynn is] a city that has so much history and so much going for it right now. One of the things that make cities great, beautiful, and exciting is that there’s a place for everyone, and cities bring people together and it’s places like this that make that a reality,” Nicholson said.
