City Trees is a premier publication focused on urban + community forestry. In each issue, you’ll learn how to best manage the trees in your community and more!
Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/1163463
New Children's Garden at State Botanical Garden of Georgia Highlights American Chestnut By Kathy Patrick, Georgia Chapter President, The American Chestnut Foundation Photos Courtesy of State Botanical Garden of Georgia Used Courtesy of The American Chestnut Foundation (TACF) On March 23, 2019, a long-dreamed-of and planned-for day finally arrived—the opening of the Children's Garden at the State Botanical Garden of Georgia in Athens. Designated the Alice H. Richards Children's Garden in honor of the former Botanical Garden board member who donated $1 million in 2007 to start the project, it is a mixture of fun and interactive spaces designed to be learned from, crawled through, and touched. The grand opening of the Children's Garden was attended by Ryan McNeill, a board member of the Georgia Chapter of The American Chestnut Foundation (GA-TACF). Using a "learning box" supplied by TACF, Ryan showed kids and their parents the differences between Chinese chest- nuts, American chestnuts, and chinquapins to the children. Dr. Martin Cipollini, of Berry College in Rome, GA and a GA-TACF board member, donated five chestnut seedlings to be planted within the State Botanical Garden near the conservationist office as well as in the Children's Garden. The Garden features native Georgia plants and habitat gardens, along with natural processes like pollination, soil composition, water sources, and interactions of plants, insects, and animals. Other highlights of the 2.5-acre (1-ha) garden include a walk-through chestnut treehouse, a fossil wall, giant water-misting mushrooms, a vegetable garden, a replica of a North Georgia cave, and much more. The walk-through chestnut treehouse is a huge depiction of the tree's moniker, the mighty giant. Lying on its side with a wide walkway and benches inside, the structure effectively relays the size and grandeur of these once-prevalent trees. The exte- rior of the structure has swatches of bark and expands to a characteristically massive tree base. Strolling through the chestnut treehouse, visitors pass a beautiful sign detailing the history and cul- tural importance of the American chestnut. Walk-through chestnut treehouse under construction. The Alice H. Richards Children's Garden of the State Botanical Garden of Georgia is proving hugely popular in its first year. Children playing at the Children's Garden. 36 CityTREES