Dig In with Inniswood Junior Garden Volunteers

Inniswood Metro Gardens is the only botanical garden in your Metro Parks, with 10 feature gardens to explore along with natural areas in the 123-acre site. Part of what keeps Inniswood looking great is the continued involvement of nearly 300 volunteers.

During the growing season, Inniswood invites younger volunteers to dig in along with us. Children age 11-17 can be registered to join our staff in the garden at one of our monthly sessions. We tackle projects on the first Saturday of each month from 9–11am. Let’s take a look at what the volunteers have been up to so far this season…

Lamb’s ear, rosemary and oregano, oh my!

Volunteers discovered that each one of these plants highlights one of our senses. Junior Garden Volunteers spent the first Saturday in June planting these and other sensory plants in the Sisters’ Garden. Can you tell which is which in the first picture below? Check out the flower beds near Granny’s House in the Sisters’ Garden this month to see more of the work of our young volunteers.

Junior Garden Volunteers help with many other garden tasks too, which allows them to experience the work that goes into keeping a public garden looking great. It’s an opportunity for career exploration, a chance to get some exercise and fresh air, meet new people and make friends. Time spent in the Inniswood gardens can also count for volunteer service hours.

Garden Buzz

If you like photography, you’ll love Garden Buzz, a citizen science project that we are adding to the volunteer experience this summer. Our volunteers will take photos of insects on flowers while learning about the importance of native pollinators that bring us tasty treats, such as tomatoes and blueberries. We will visit gardens featuring both native and cultivated flowers, and photos of bumblebees will be sent to Bumble Bee Watch, a nationwide citizen science project focused on bumblebee conservation.

(Colleen Sharkey, Environmental Educator at Inniswood Metro Garden.)