Through the Queens Botanical Garden’s (QBG) HSBC Children’s Garden program, youngsters are getting to learn more about the environment and are developing green thumbs while they plant.
The program was started in 1973, with HSBC supporting it since 2003. During sessions in the spring, summer and fall, the children not only learn about gardening but also about science and nature.
Activities vary by session, but can include designing the garden, planting or harvesting. The work started in one session is continued by the children in the next session.
Children between the ages of five and 12 are able to participate. Although most of the children are from Queens, there have been some from Long Island, Manhattan, Brooklyn and even New Jersey.
QBG Education Coordinator Rebecca Wolf said that the program gives the kids a chance to understand things that they see everyday but don’t think about. She said that they get to look at the environment and “really examine” it while experiencing it first-hand.
“It’s great,” Wolf said. “We have a lot of fun.”
She added that the counselors make the activities a lot of fun so that the children don’t feel like they are in school.
Spring session participants Julia Mechner, 4, and Raphael Reyes, 8, said that there favorite part has been planting things, including peas and lettuce. They children also brought seeds from things they ate at home to plant.
Another participant, five-year-old Katelin Chen, said that her favorite part has been seeing the greenhouse. She also said she likes the flowers.
The children have also learned about garden-related aspects like the role worms play and about soil.
Tim Heimerle, QBG’s Director of Development and Marketing, said that the organization has always had a focus on education, so the Children’s Garden was a “natural outgrowth.” It was created as part of a more “in-depth” program for kids.
The spring session, which meets on Saturdays from 9:30 a.m. to noon, began on March 27 and will continue through June 13.
During the remainder of the program, Chen said that she hopes to learn about caterpillars and Reyes wants to learn about centipedes.
Reyes is also looking forward to seeing the things they’ve planted grow bigger, while Mechner is excited about eating them once they’re ready.
There will be two session of the HSBC Children’s Garden during the summer. Session one will be held on Mondays and Wednesdays from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. July 5 through August 18. Session two will be held Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. from July 6 to August 19.
The fall sessions will take place on Saturdays from September 11 to October 2 from 9:30 a.m. to noon.
For more information, visit www.queensbotanical.org/childrensgarden or call Wolf at 718-886-3800 x230.
