(above) Ghanshyam Patel in front of the completed mural.
Rainforest Special Event
Submitted by Gwen Chalker
On August 26, Warrenbrook Senior Center, at 500 Warrenville Road, located on the Warrenbrook Golf Course, hosted a Rainforest Special Event. The center was decorated with palm leaves, tropical flowers and pictures of rainforest wildlife. The decorations were enhanced by a rainforest mural painted by Ghanshyam Patel, a member at the center. The prior week, center participants created rain sticks.
Attendees were particularly interested in learning how the Amazon Rainforest fire, that resulted in a major loss of trees and biodiversity, would impact the earth’s oxygen. With rainforests being the Earth’s oldest living ecosystems, attendees expressed their concerns about the immediate impact of the fire on climate change. Monica Juhasz, a Naturalist from the Somerset County Park Commission, Environmental Center, spoke about the fire and its long term effects, the four main rainforest layers and how rainforests play an invaluable role in sustaining life. She also highlighted the flora and fauna found in rainforests. The event turned out to be a timely and relevant educational program that everyone enjoyed.
Warrenbrook Senior Center is a part of county government, supported with funds from the County of Somerset, State of New Jersey and the Federal Older Americans Act. Sponsored by Somerset County Board of Chosen Freeholders.
(above) Ghanshyam Patel painting the mural that would later hang in the center’s main room during the program.
(above) Ghanshyam Patel’s rough sketch of the rainforest mural, prior to being painted.
