Provided by Naples Botanical Garden

Founded in 1993 by a visionary group of local plant enthusiasts, Naples Botanical Garden is a 170-acre, world-class garden paradise that features plants from around the world. In 2017, Naples Botanical Garden became the youngest garden in history to receive the prestigious Award for Garden Excellence from the American Public Gardens Association. They are steadfastly committed to their local community, to award-winning horticultural design, and to comprehensive approaches to sustainability. The garden welcomes over 220,000 visitors per year in their themed gardens that include an orchid garden, a water garden, and a children’s garden, among many others.

Naples Botanical Garden presents their year-round W.O.N.D.E.R. in the Garden program, which began in July 2010. An informal educational drop-in family activity for children of all ages, W.O.N.D.E.R. is an acronym for “walk, observe, navigate, discover, explore, read.” The fun and engaging lessons are based on a monthly theme such as:

• Super Seeds – discover the magic of seeds as we discuss where they come from, where they go, and what they need to grow; then, plant a seed to care for at home!
• Little Green Thumbs – learn how we take care of our vegetables, herbs, flowers, and more; then, find out how to grow plants from cuttings take home a piece of the Garden!
• Tremendous Trees – count the rings in a tree cookie, read stories, and plant a tree-mendous tree to take home!
• Feathered Friends – explore feathers up-close and create binoculars to search out birds on the fly; then plant some Florida-native fiddlewood seeds to take home!

The program typically includes a story about the month’s theme and hands-on activities, experiments, art, and planting projects related to that theme. Visitors are invited to imagine, create, and explore together at 10:30 am in the Garden. W.O.N.D.E.R. is available daily during the season in locations throughout the Gardens. No prior registration is necessary for this educational nature-based programming and is included with regular Garden admission.

The program is appropriate for families with children of all ages, from toddlers to teens, and approximately 9,000 children and families have participated in the program since its inception.

To learn more about Naples Botanical Garden and the W.O.N.D.E.R. in the Garden program, visit http://naplesgarden.org.

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