County
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Advice from the Heartland
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County
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Advice from the Heartland |
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News
Release - Floyd County "Tell me and I forget, teach
me and I remember, involve me and I learn." There's a new garden in town. No, it may not be the biggest or prettiest, and it probably won't grace the list of the "Top Ten Places to See in Floyd County," but one might suspect that it will be the most productive garden around. Of course, this garden will have its share of beautiful blooms and tasty fresh vegetables, but the focus of the new Children's Garden to be developed in New Albany's (Sam Peden) Community Park will be on developing young children into future gardeners and, more importantly, future stewards of our natural resources and our community. As this story is being written, the future garden site is much like an artist's fresh canvas, awaiting only the inspiration, a few well chosen materials and a lot of hard work. Currently the site is a mostly level, grassy field with good well-drained soil (though probably still a bit wet for planting) and lots of sunshine. What else could a gardener want? The setting of the garden within the beautiful Community Park adjacent to the new Pedway will offer almost unlimited possibilities. When the children arrive at the garden each week, their imaginations guided by the experience of numerous members of the Sunnyside Master Gardener Association and Purdue Extension Office staff, will determine the ultimate appearance and content of the garden. There is no master plan; there has been no feasibility study…This garden will truly be a garden for children and designed by children, built with hands in the soil, backs bent, knees dirty and all eyes focused on the future. Try to see a garden from the perspective of a child. What would be important to you? What about a towering sunflower castle crowned with flowers that track the daily progress of the sun?... perhaps a rainbow garden whose contiguous arcs are formed of a multitude of blooming flowers? ...bright red tomatoes so fresh the dew is still there when you add them to your salad? ...a cool blue teepee "hideout" of morning glories to welcome your arrival among bird house gourds that will some day provide home for youngsters of a feathered variety? What about a garden that is home for earthworms, butterflies and frogs, where the recipe for mudpies is common knowledge and their production a welcomed practice? To be honest, it is a little difficult for adults (at least this adult) to think about what is significant to those fresh, uncluttered minds. We have quickly left those years of imagination behind and many of us have never looked back as we busy ourselves with all the "important" things that we do each day. Many of us (adults) today see garden creatures such as earthworms and spiders less with wonderment and fascination and more with a sense of revulsion or perhaps even fear, and see soil (ok...we can call it dirt) only in the context of how much detergent it will take to remove it. This garden will be a place where the learning goes both ways, where the roles of teacher and student blur, and where we welcome children to perhaps find beauty and recreation in ways that don't involve organized teams or keeping score. Knowledge, skills and imaginations are encouraged to grow as their garden grows. The garden is hoped to be a place where children's curiosity about nature and natural systems is fostered so that perhaps even we as adults can learn to see garden creatures (at least most of them) as part of the garden system rather than unwelcome intruders into it. Each week through the summer, the "apprentice" gardeners will have a chance to learn a bit about plant science, soils, plant nutrition,and plant and pest identification, while also building scarecrows and trying their hand at several garden-related crafts, and they will even learn a few tasty tips on using fresh vegetables as fun snacks...all of this while designing and tending their own flowers and vegetables (weather permitting). Hands-on learning will be the guiding principle. Putting what you have learned immediately into practice and quickly seeing the results is probably how most of us actually learn and retain knowledge the best. In these days of tight budgets and the apparent need for
a 25th hour in every day, is a project of this type a priority? After
having given this question some serious thought, at least in my mind and
those of the many Sunnyside Master Gardeners who are committed to making
this effort a success, the answer is a resounding...Yes! Can anything
be more important than fostering the development and creativity of youth
who are already on the right path, and rewarding them with subtle but
memorable flower and fruit"trophies" of their accomplishments
and the encouragement of role model adults? This garden is obviously not the only way to accomplish
this important task, but it is one enterprise for which this group of
Master Gardeners and a variety of guest presenters are uniquely qualified.
The Motto of the Master Gardener of "Helping Others Grow" could
not be more appropriate. Sharing gardening knowledge and skills with children
helps to assure that these cultural skills will not be overlooked and
lost as we move away from our agricultural roots. Whether or not these
skills will be needed in the future remains to be seen, but a basic understanding
of where our food comes from and an appreciation of the labor and care
involved in its production can, at least, help us to value the bounty
that we currently enjoy. Certainly the skills involved in designing gardens,
and in selecting, planting and caring for flowers can only improve one's
future ability to build and care for the communities and neighborhoods
in which we will all live. The ability to manage the finite natural resources that our environment offers in a way that does not despoil it seems to depend upon a strong foundation of beliefs often established in our younger years. We hope this garden will be one step in that positive direction for a few youngsters. You are invited to track the development of the children's gardening skills as they slowly coax flowers and fruit from the fertile soil of Community Park on Grant Line Road in New Albany through the coming months. Of course the development of this garden at this location would not be possible without the cooperation of The New Albany / Floyd County Department of Parks and Recreation and that department's board for which we are grateful. If you or your organization would like to contribute to
the childrens garden or to know more about the basics of how to involve
children in gardening or about the Master Gardener program in Floyd and
adjacent counties you are encouraged to contact Roy Ballard, Purdue Extension
Educator, ANR for Floyd county or Kevin Thompson, Horticulture Program
Assistant by calling (812) 948-5470 or by e-mail at roy.ballard@extension.purdue.edu
or kevin.thompson@extension.purdue.edu
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At a Glance:
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