Pollinator Garden Named For Mary Ann Latona Nadler For Her Instrumental Contributions
NYMC Students And Faculty Alike Have Learned From Mrs. Nadler’s Passion For Supporting Native Ecosystems
The New York Medical College (NYMC) community gathered for a ceremony on September 21, to name the pollinator garden outside of Sunshine Cottage as a tribute to Mary Ann Latona Nadler, who helped create the garden, and whose passion for native species and sustainability has impacted NYMC students and faculty alike. The ceremony featured the unveiling of a sign officially naming the garden “Mary Ann’s Garden.” Although Mrs. Nadler was unable to attend, her husband, Jerry L. Nadler, M.D., MACP, FAHA, FACE, dean of the School of Medicine (SOM) and professor of medicine and of pharmacology, expressed gratitude on her behalf.
The sun shined on the pollinator garden, meant to be a safe haven for pollinator species such as bees and butterflies, as the ceremony began with an invocation by Rabbi Baruch Fogel, M.A., Office of College Affairs at Touro University. “This garden like a family of connected lives will bring together people in the embrace of life, each part supporting another. All those who enter our campus will be enriched by this garden which exemplifies the Nadlers’ dedication and support for one another,” Rabbi Fogel said.
Carl I. Thompson, Ph.D., professor of physiology and president of the NYMC Faculty Senate, spoke of how the diversity of the garden represented the NYMC community. “The pollinator garden is beautiful, diverse and functional. What could be more important to represent the overall purpose of an institution of higher learning,” Dr. Thompson said. “I hope the legacy of the new pollinator garden in honor of Mrs. Nadler will be a lasting and fitting tribute.”
A thoughtful poem was read by Anastassia A. Sunday, SOM Class of 2024 and founder of the student Environmental Health Interest Group, to honor Mrs. Nadler. Ms. Sunday worked closely with Mrs. Nadler to create the garden, as Mrs. Nadler provided much of the plant seeds and shared insight into how to maintain it. “Mary Ann, you continue to teach us so much about the environment and sustainability that we will carry with us for the rest of our lives. Thank you for always showing us kindness, for being a mentor and a role model and for continuing to make the world a better place,” Ms. Sunday said.
Edward C. Halperin, M.D., M.A., chancellor and chief executive officer, shared his experience attending an online lecture by Mrs. Nadler on Monarch butterflies. “I concluded two things, Mary Ann Nadler knows more about butterflies than any human being I’ve ever known and clearly knows more about the dining habits of butterflies. Thus, we at New York Medical College have enjoyed the fruits of her knowledge by the creation of this pollinator garden,” Dr. Halperin said. “This garden is created in honor of a person who cares greatly for these little creatures and the plants which they are joined within an ecosystem.”
To conclude the ceremony, Dr. Nadler, moved by the kind words throughout the ceremony, offered his thanks to the speakers and those who attended the event.
“This is really helpful for her and for our family, but the real pleasure is having this on the New York Medical College campus with the students,” Dr. Nadler. “If you want to honor Mary Ann, plant native plants, plant plants that support the pollinators and the Monarch butterflies.”
