Delray Beach Children’s Garden has been designed and built by children. We, the adults, are the facilitators.
To accomplish the children’s vision, we took everyones comments seriously and had a panel of 8 judges ranging from ages 7-17 from which a local landscape architect volunteered to draw up the final, professional plans. As you can see from the pictures this included a labyrinth made of raised bed veggie planters, a banana forest, an aquaponics learning center, a medicinal garden, pollinator beds, mulch mountain, a tree house and sand pit, a sunflower house and more.
Today, we have almost accomplished our goal in completing the first of its kind Children’s Garden in south Florida. However, we are in need of funding to complete the final stages to include our pergola, sandbox and provide additional plantings. Here is a bit more detail about each of the objectives:
• The pergola at the garden entrance would be beautiful and practical. By providing a growing surface for vines and creepers, it would be covered over time and create shade. It would also serve as a landmark in the garden for children and adults alike. Passing through a vine-covered pergola acts as a gateway, helping people become more aware that they are entering a different and living place.
• A good old-fashioned sandbox is a place for kids to engage in creative play, allowing them to activate their imagination and their bodies together. That is something video games and most toys don’t do.
• Plants in the garden will engage all of a child’s senses, not just some. Food plants, decorative plants, aromatic plants — and the butterflies and bees they attract — delight a child’s eyes, ears, nose, and mouth. Plants also educate children and adults about the mysteries of nature and the life sciences: biology, botany, medicine, and more.
Your contribution will go directly to one of these projects providing you a sense of connectedness with the garden. Thank you for your willingness to contribute to this amazing cause and we hope you take the opportunity to come to our Grand Opening Harvest Festival on November 29th, 2015.
We have teams of volunteers waiting for materials to complete our project. Once the funds come in we will order the supplies and get to work on the pergola, sand box and final plantings. We already have a regular Saturday morning work day in place. Both the pergola and sandbox can completed in just a few days. Our goal is to have both projects completed by the Grand Opening on November 29th.
Delray Beach Children’s Garden will be the first of its kind in South Florida, bringing children from all economic and cultural backgrounds to work, play, learn, explore and problem solve together in a lush, natural setting.