Daily Local News (West Chester, PA)
Growing gardeners
Kids can cultivate their gardening skills this summer.
The summer months offer great opportunities for families to nurture a child’s interest in gardening and horticulture. Hands-on activities at a public garden or park — or in your own backyard — can engage children in fun, fascinating ways that instill a lifelong connection to the natural world.
Jacqueline Fisher, the manager of educational enrichment programs at the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society, says you can introduce children to gardening “as soon as they can hold a tool in their hands.” Showing a toddler the basic steps of seed-planting will demonstrate the roles of sun, soil and water and the wonders of growing plants.
“It’s important that they have something tangible, something that they can see, touch and smell,” Fisher said. “Choose a plant that will quickly sprout and turn into a flower. It shows a simple process that yields results, and it will be much more powerful than something they see in a book.”
Direct contact with plants in gardens or a visit to the park will teach children the role of horticulture and the impact plants have in our lives.
“They can learn that trees give us clean air to breathe, and that our food comes from the field, not from a store shelf,” Fisher explains.
PHS Meadowbrook Farm in Abington Township, Montgomery County, is hosting a series of programs, “First Thursdays: Family Fun in the Garden,” for children this summer.
The free programs at Meadowbrook — a 25-acre property with a variety of formal and display gardens and a specialized plant shop — are held from 4 to 7 p.m. and include a story, craft project and scavenger hunt based on a different horticultural theme each month. The theme on July 4 is “Vegetables Day,” followed by “Trees Day” on Aug. 2 and “Leaves Day” on Sept. 6.
The family programs at Meadowbrook are perfect for preschool and elementary age children, Fisher said.
“They really get kids excited about being in the garden,” she said. “What’s especially cool is that they are becoming intergenerational experiences. Grandparents are attending and sharing gardening stories from their lives with their children and grandchildren. It’s a great bonding experience.”
Pre-registration in the Meadowbrook Farm “First Thursdays” programs is recommended; call 215-9881698.
More opportunities for green kids
Families are invited to the popular PHS Pop Up Gardens as well. The Pop Ups are formerly underutilized empty lots that have been transformed by PHS into green, urban oases with delicious food and drinks for the summer. The garden at 15th and South streets will host “Make & Take” workshops for guests of all ages on Sundays from 2 to 4 p.m. on July 29, Aug. 16 and Sept. 30.
PHS also brings green curriculum to school classrooms through the Green City Teachers series. You don’t have to be an educator to attend the handson workshops, which will be held June 26 to 28 at the Furness Horace High School, 1900 S. Third St. in Philadelphia. Participants will learn how to build a sustainable school garden and inspire kids through environmental lessons. To register, call 215-988-1698.
The start of the school term in the fall brings the PHS Junior Flower Show to classrooms throughout the Greater Philadelphia region. The Junior Flower Show is a free program for students from preschool through high school that fosters an awareness of horticulture and the natural environment and encourages active participation in growing, gardening and sustainable practices. The children can enter a variety of horticultural and artistic classes, and the Best in Show-winning exhibits are displayed at the Philadelphia Flower Show in March.
“The children get to work with their classmates as a little community on many of the Junior Flower Show projects,” said Fisher, who has served as a judge in the competition. “It’s a great way for them to learn, and they are so proud of their work. They see how horticulture affects people’s lives in positive ways.”
For information about bringing the Junior Flower Show to your school, contact Johanna Schoeller at jschoeller@pennhort.org.
To learn more about any PHS gardening programs for children, visit PHSonline.org.
“They really get kids excited about being in the garden.” — Jacqueline Fisher, manager of educational enrichment programs at the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society, speaking about family programs at Meadowbrook Farm