Exploring the Beauty Around Us ...

At one end of downtown Kernersville, there is a botanical garden. The Paul J. Ceiner Botanical Garden sent an invitation to teachers in our school district to come for a Tea and See event to tour the garden. Holly DuBois sent me the invitation saying that it looked like something my daughter and I might want to explore, so Madalyn and I went!

On our tour, we learned a little bit of the history and the future plan for the site. Before he pased away, Paul J. Ceiner had an idea to create a beautiful place for the residents of Kernersville, a town he loved, to enjoy.

Here is the vision statement of this botanical garden:

The vision of Paul J. Ciener Botanical Garden is to create a dynamic public garden in Kernersville, North Carolina that surprises visitors from near and far by its scope, quality, and benefits for tourism, community events, and civic pride.

Right now only 2 of the 7 acres are developed, and they are thoughtfully designed and maintained. There is a kitchen garden area where there are raised plant beds in the design of a Moravian Quilt Pattern (Kernersville is not too far from Winston-Salem ... and Salem was originally a Moravian settlement). There are raised plant beds because Mr. Ceiner wanted them to be accessible for everyone and his family has raised plant beds when he was younger. The vegetables, herbs, and spices from this area are not sold, but non-profit groups can come harvest these things to use.

The botanical garden is working with the Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools Science department to develop field trips and lessons to go along with the curriculum for teachers ... fruits, vegetables, nutrients, soil, regional characteristics . . .

I can't wait to see what is developed. The tulips in the front garden area should bloom this week or next week, so I also can't wait for that happen. I have plans for Madalyn and I to return .... and we will both have fully charged cameras (the battery in mine ran out halfway through the tour ...)

I searched for Botanical Garden on Thinkfinity and found some great results:

• Become a Plant Hunter:  Discover 66 plants from around the globe with Plant Hunters, an immersive interactive tool that includes video, fun challenges and images of plants. Check out Plant Hunters, or explore additional classroom resources on botany.
• Beauty All Around You: This is actually a Parent Guide for a trip families can take to explore the beauty in the landscapes and environments all around:  New experiences and places help children understand how ideas connect with the real world. Learning on field trips can spark curiosity and inspire children to ask better questions about the world around them. The people children meet on field trips can encourage children to think broadly about their own futures and help them to consider other possible job.