Freedom HS sophomore Olivia Taylor organized a group of volunteers to assist her and members of Friends of Johnston, Inc. in renovating the Children’s Garden at Camel’s Hump Farm April 13. As a local event tied to Global Youth Service Day, Taylor successfully scored a $700 grant for the project from the Sodexo Stop Hunger Foundation.

The 16-year-old said, “I truly like doing outdoor projects,” and mentioned that she has helped out at Camel’s Hump Farm for three summers.

The student and adult volunteers repaired a garden shed, prepared beds for planting, built a picnic table and painted a mural on the picket fence at the Community Garden at the Johnston Estate in Bethlehem, at 1311 Santee Mill Road. This was the former Geringer farmstead, with a 1722 farmhouse and 1836 Pennsylvania double-decker bank barn.

The property was once owned by Archibald Johnston, the first mayor of Bethlehem, after the north and south municipalities consolidated in 1917. It adjoins Bethlehem Township’s Housenick Park, home to Johnston’s 22-room mansion built in 1921.

Global Youth Service Day (GYSD), is touted as the largest youth service and civic action event in the world.

The next events scheduled for Camel’s Hump Farm are the Veteran Fun Run on June 8 and Founder’s Day celebration June 9.

For Information: thefriendsofjohnston.org; GYSD.org