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The Arboretum Announces
Campaign for
Kentucky Children’s Garden
 LEXINGTON,
Ky., (Nov. 29, 2007) – Imagine an outdoor learning environment
that gives Kentucky children hands-on opportunities to learn and
have fun at the same time; a place that helps children
understand the environment and develop a love and respect for
the Earth; a climate that inspires parents and teachers to learn
about the importance of plants and their impact on the world and
a setting that motivates children to try fresh fruits,
vegetables and other foods to improve their attitudes and
behaviors.
The University of Kentucky – Lexington Fayette Urban County
Government Arboretum, the official State Botanical Garden of
Kentucky, will implement all these things with its Kentucky
Children’s Garden project. A campaign to raise funds for the
garden will run through January 2009.
“Today’s children have less direct contact with nature, poorer
nutrition and they spend a lot more time in front of a
television or a computer screen,” said Marcia Farris, director
of The Arboretum. “We know that gardening is a source of
physical activity and it can give children and their parents a
reason to be outdoors and be active.”
Designed by nationally renowned and award-winning landscape
architect Herb Schaal with EDAW design company of Ft. Collins,
Colo., the Kentucky Children’s Garden will be a 1.85-acre
outdoor learning environment where children ages 2 through 10
can discover plants and the environment. The location will also
reserve an area for children to plant and maintain.
“This is truly a unique project that will benefit the community,
the region and ultimately the entire state,” said Lexington
Mayor Jim Newberry. “This Children’s Garden is going to be a
remarkable return on investment for those who contribute to its
success.”
“The university’s partnership with urban county government in
supporting The Arboretum has been an extremely productive
collaboration since its inception, and this project is another
example of working together to serve the needs of youth and
adults alike,” said Scott Smith, dean of UK’s College of
Agriculture.
The garden will not be a garden in the traditional sense, but
rather an integrated combination of various ‘child-scaled’ theme
gardens and garden-like elements for experiential play. There
will be a small amphitheater for presentations, interactive
educational exhibits, interconnecting paths and comfortable
benches.
“It will engage all the senses, emphasizing interactive features
and learning through creative play,” said Becky Saha, president
of the Friends of The Arboretum. “The garden is designed to
represent regional themes and environmental relationships of
Kentucky, and will be a place that equally engages parents as
well.”
 The
project will incorporate design elements that have proven
successful at existing children’s gardens around the United
States, and will inspire learning by children, parents and
teachers about gardening and its relationship to everyday
living.
“Gifts of all amounts, large or small, are welcome from anyone,
be they individuals, future parents, garden clubs, school groups
or anyone interested in inspiring learning and a love of plants
and nature,” said campaign co-chair David Stevens, who has
already made a generous donation to the project. “Unlike a
museum where you have to continually change exhibits during the
year, the garden will always be changing depending on the
season.”
Hidden in the woods of the Kentucky Children’s Garden will be a
dry sinkhole and a sinkhole spring, emanating from a dripping
limestone overhang. This spot will also be a good observation
point for ferns, orchids, mosses and other plants that grow in
the shade. Farris said it may also be a good spot to discover
fossils in the rock. Small buckets will be stashed here,
allowing visitors to make waterfalls from the ledges.
The Transportation Garden will include a raised bed with an
outdoor model railroad and a gathering circle where children can
learn how man travels with plant products, and how plants
naturally travel by water, air and land. A compass rose will be
the centerpiece of the paving in the gathering circle and it can
be used to teach direction and the sun’s location during the
solstices and equinox.
A playhouse-size log cabin will become the Pioneer Homestead. A
small vegetable plot, a stone wall under construction and a fire
circle will surround the cabin. Children will learn about the
plants pioneers cultivated, the stones pioneers used for
building and they will gain an appreciation for the pioneers'
history. Around the fire, visitors may participate in stories
and music from pioneer days, make crafts and taste stew from an
old iron cook pot.
A path leads uphill to the garden’s highest point, Bluegrass
Overlook. The overlook will be a place where families and groups
may gather to overlook the garden. Rock slabs will provide
informal seating and a rock overhang.
“The garden is going to have so many things to see; quite
possibly too much to see and learn in one visit,” said Dorotha
Oatts, campaign co-chair. “This will create a feeling of
anticipation and motivate our visitors to return to The
Arboretum.”
All gifts are tax deductible and will be acknowledged in the
Friends of The Arboretum Newsletter and Annual Report. Gifts of
$500 or more will be recognized in the Book of Appreciation in
the Dorotha Smith Oatts Visitor Center. Additionally,
contributions of $5,000 or more will be recognized in an
artistic manner in the Kentucky Children’s Garden. Donations may
also count toward becoming a UK Fellow. The campaign will run
through January 2009, allowing gifts to be made over a
three-year tax period.
For more information, or to make a donation, contact Marcia
Farris at The Arboretum, 859-257-6955 or via e-mail to mfarr2@uky.edu
or call Amy VanMeter at 859-257-7211 or via e-mail to
Amy.VanMeter@uky.edu |
Contact: Marcia Farris, 859-257-6955
Aimee Nielson, 859-257-7707
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The UK College
of Agriculture, through its land-grant mission, reaches across
the commonwealth with teaching, research and extension
to enhance the lives of Kentuckians. |
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Kentucky Cooperative Extension Service |
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