Welcome to the Garden!
The William “Bill” Whitfield Smith Community Garden at the Wayne County Public Library is a joyful, peaceful place for children (and adults!) to learn about our environment and how they can impact it.
Home to a variety of fruits, vegetables, and flowers, our garden can be enjoyed in multiple ways. We invite all children and their families to check it out!
Recently, the children learned about several yoga positions during the Growing Gardens, Growing Minds program. The weather didn’t cooperate, so instead of practicing in the garden, the children completed the exercises in the Children’s Room. The program focused on how important it is to take care of our body just like the plants in our garden! With help from Ms. Sharon Mervin, our students learned easy yoga poses they could do at home while also learning the importance of breathing, and strengthening our mind-body connection. Here are a few books about yoga that children can enjoy at home. In May, the children will be painting rocks to go in the garden.
What’s Growing in the Garden?
Click on the image to find recipes using this produce.
Check back later to see what else is sprouting. Our library families voted for their favorite plants, so those have been planted in our garden! New this year – our sensory garden! With plants like eucalyptus, lavender, and lamb’s ear, children are encouraged to touch, smell, and connect with nature. Additionally, you will find our color garden! Each bench bed is dedicated to a different color, encouraging children to discover colors in a new way. And don’t worry— our famous zinnias and pollinator garden will be in bloom soon!
Blackberries
Using them in recipes
Salvia and phlox
Flower Arrangements 101
Blueberries
Recipes with blueberries
Healthy Smoothies
For those of you who haven’t heard of it, ecoEXPLORE (Experiences Promoting Learning Outdoors for Research and Education) is an incentive-based citizen science program for children in grades K-8.
Developed by The North Carolina Arboretum, this innovative program combines science exploration with kid-friendly technology to foster a fun learning environment for children while encouraging them to explore the outdoors and participate in citizen science.
Ecoexplorers can earn extra points for photographing organisms at the Wayne County Public Library’s garden or area (or by visiting any of the hotspots or loanspots on this map, ) Point can be used to purchase items such as binoculars, bee houses, and even an iPod Touch!
How to Explore?
See it!
After signing up online, participants go outside in their own backyard or at designated ecoEXPLORE HotSpots to find wildlife species, including plants, reptiles, amphibians, insects and birds.
Snap it!
Participants can use their own device – or check out an iPod Touch at a participating LoanSpot location – and photograph their wildlife observation, noting the data, location, time, size and species observed.
Share it!
Participants then log into their ecoEXPLORE profile online and submit their “share” or observation. Arboretum staff will then review the data and submit all approved submissions to the iNaturalist Network, which is used by real scientists!