Children’s Garden series set for LSU AgCenter Botanic Gardens

By: Richard Bogren
BATON ROUGE – The Children’s Garden at the LSU AgCenter Botanic Gardens at Burden has announced a series of special events for the coming year.
The Children’s Garden Series will feature hands-on activities for 6-to-12-year-olds on Saturday mornings in January, February, May, June, September and November, said AgCenter fruit and vegetable specialist Kiki Fontenot.
Dates and topics are:
– Jan. 28. Attracting Birds to Your Garden. Children will learn about song birds and the plants they love. They will have an opportunity to paint a gourd bird house to take home and attract birds to their own yards.
– Feb. 18. Vermicomposting. What is more fun than wiggly worms? “Composting can be done by humans and creepy crawlies,” Fontenot said. Children will be able to build a mini vermicompost bin for their own homes.
– May 20. Fruit and Vegetable Lab. “What is a fruit and what is a vegetable? Is there really a difference?” Fontenot asked. Children will have an opportunity to sort, plant, eat and take home edibles for their own yards.
– June 24. Native Trees. Trees are an important part of our environment. Children will take a nature hike and discover which trees are native to Louisiana and the United States and which have traveled many miles to live here.
– Sept. 30. Bees and Plants to Attract Pollinators to Your Yard. Gardens are living spaces with more than just plant life growing. Children will discover the sounds and sights of insects that help us tend to our gardens. Children will make a mason bee house to bring home.
– November. Date to be determined. Chickens in the Garden.