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The Ithaca Children's Garden Helps Kids Grow |
Photo by Elizabeth Bauchner
by Elizabeth Bauchner
On July 30, Ithaca, New York “hatched” a giant turtle in its Ithaca Children’s Garden. As part of the hatch-day celebration, the turtle was named “Gaia” after a team of children poured through over 400 nominations for the name. The realistic-looking turtle, designed and created by artists Vicki Romanoff and Bo Atkinson, now sits at the southern end of the children’s garden, ready for children to visit.
“I think it’s great,” said seven-year-old Adrian, who climbed upon the turtle’s head and ran his fingers over the leaf patterns detailed within the sculpture. Over in the sandbox at Gaia’s tail, Adrian’s four-year-old sister Lily built sandcastles and announced that she never wanted to leave. It’s easy to see why. With a grass “throne”, an herb garden, an “ugly vegetable garden,” and a newly created labyrinth by the teen horticulture program, there’s much to enjoy in the garden for children of all ages.
Kathi Colen Peck, the garden’s program director, says, “The overall mission is to create a sustainable public garden with great educational and outreach programs.” Some of those projects include after school programs, summer camps, a teen horticulture program, and working with families with children from China. “I would say that annually we reach about 1000 youth,” says Peck.
Children and youth have been involved with the garden since its inception in 1997. “It’s a place where kids get to explore an open space in nature and explore the whole botanical world,” says Peck, adding, “This isn’t coming just from an adult vision. Kids have been very involved in helping us design the garden.” Even with all the garden currently offers, it is still in its initial stages. “The site is three acres and we’re just at the beginning of development,” explains Peck. The next step is to complete a wetlands habitat around the turtle, and to develop more thematic gardens, like the “ugly vegetable garden” that is based on the children’s book Ugly Vegetables by Grace Lin. Other plans include a spiral mounding waterfall and an amphitheatre.
“We just want to give kids the opportunity to be outside with both directed and undirected exploration,” says Peck, adding, “[Children] need to have the ability to explore outdoors to observe plants and to learn about how to take care of them.”
For more information on the Ithaca Children’s Garden, visit www.cce.cornell.edu/tompkins/ithacachildrensgarden/.
Contact: Ithaca Children's Garden
615 Willow Ave.
Ithaca, NY 14850
Tel: (607) 272-2292
Web: www.cce.cornell.edu/tompkins/ithacachildrensgarden/
On July 30, Ithaca, New York “hatched” a giant turtle in its Ithaca Children’s Garden. As part of the hatch-day celebration, the turtle was named “Gaia” after a team of children poured through over 400 nominations for the name. The realistic-looking turtle, designed and created by artists Vicki Romanoff and Bo Atkinson, now sits at the southern end of the children’s garden, ready for children to visit.
“I think it’s great,” said seven-year-old Adrian, who climbed upon the turtle’s head and ran his fingers over the leaf patterns detailed within the sculpture. Over in the sandbox at Gaia’s tail, Adrian’s four-year-old sister Lily built sandcastles and announced that she never wanted to leave. It’s easy to see why. With a grass “throne”, an herb garden, an “ugly vegetable garden,” and a newly created labyrinth by the teen horticulture program, there’s much to enjoy in the garden for children of all ages.
Kathi Colen Peck, the garden’s program director, says, “The overall mission is to create a sustainable public garden with great educational and outreach programs.” Some of those projects include after school programs, summer camps, a teen horticulture program, and working with families with children from China. “I would say that annually we reach about 1000 youth,” says Peck.
Children and youth have been involved with the garden since its inception in 1997. “It’s a place where kids get to explore an open space in nature and explore the whole botanical world,” says Peck, adding, “This isn’t coming just from an adult vision. Kids have been very involved in helping us design the garden.” Even with all the garden currently offers, it is still in its initial stages. “The site is three acres and we’re just at the beginning of development,” explains Peck. The next step is to complete a wetlands habitat around the turtle, and to develop more thematic gardens, like the “ugly vegetable garden” that is based on the children’s book Ugly Vegetables by Grace Lin. Other plans include a spiral mounding waterfall and an amphitheatre.
“We just want to give kids the opportunity to be outside with both directed and undirected exploration,” says Peck, adding, “[Children] need to have the ability to explore outdoors to observe plants and to learn about how to take care of them.”
For more information on the Ithaca Children’s Garden, visit www.cce.cornell.edu/tompkins/ithacachildrensgarden/.
Contact: Ithaca Children's Garden
615 Willow Ave.
Ithaca, NY 14850
Tel: (607) 272-2292
Web: www.cce.cornell.edu/tompkins/ithacachildrensgarden/
Photo by Elizabeth Bauchner
