Everything Under The Sun: Gardens Under Construction

Wednesday, June 15, 2016

Gardens Under Construction

Plans for The Children's Adventure Garden.

For THE PEOPLE/PLANT CONNECTION in San Angelo, Texas, it's all about an educational garden available to people of all different ages and backgrounds, for visiting and learning. Susan Stanfield was the Founder back in July 2009. It's also about the human connection with plant life, in its many forms.

In 2014, this organization received a small grant to build The Children's Adventure Garden on about three acres of land. The idea grew from children's positive responses to gardening classes at The People/Plant Connection. The garden is interactive and provides children with the opportunity to learn about gardening, various types of plants that can be grown, conserving water, and caring for the environment.

Ms. Stanfield said, "I was amazed at how many children hadn't been exposed to the natural world of plants and wildlife....[In the classes] [t]hey learned about horticulture, butterflies, and hummingbirds. They tasted vegetables and fruit. One little girl had never tasted a fresh cherry tomato. My passion is fed every time we teach someone something new about gardening that gets them excited about being outdoors and making a difference in their lives."

There are two other gardening areas under development, besides The Children's Adventure Garden. The Accessible Garden has raised beds and some of those are accessible to visitors in wheelchairs. The Serenity Rose Garden is specifically designed, with a variety of roses, to provide a space for reflection and contemplation. There are a variety of scents and colors.

A San Angelo Area Foundation Grant, awarded in 2014, provided some new features, completed in September of last year. Two more 3,000 gallon rain tanks were added to the three already at the facility. The grant allowed for the addition of more rain water tanks, for a total capacity of 15,000 gallons of water. That will allow The People/Plant Connection to start working on a Water Conservation Garden, which will include a rain garden that can catch runoff from the tanks.

Another part of the grant allowed the construction of a 15' by 15' outdoor classroom that is also accessible by wheelchair. Bench seating has been installed at the perimeter and this pavilion will provide room for gardening classes.

The recently constructed outdoor classroom.

A 2,500 gallon rain tank was added on the outside to collect water from the classroom roof. It is providing water for the children's garden. Whenever children collect the tank's output, they are learning about the importance of conserving water in environmentally friendly ways.