The basic premise of the Park District’s children’s nature programming is that “direct exposure to nature is essential to a child’s healthy physical and emotional development.” The goals of the children’s gardening program are to give kids within a 30- mile radius of Pekin, located in the center of Illinois, a chance both to learn about the natural environment and to grow food that might otherwise be absent from the family table. Over 700 youth between the ages of 3 and 16 not only are learning how to design, plant, tend, harvest, and prepare food crops, they are also learning about healthy lifestyles. Furthermore, for most children, the experience will be free.

The children at Soldwedel Program Center want visitors to marvel at the mound of dirt in the shape of a big head rising out of the ground. That will be their Mother Earth garden, one of many that the children who get to attend the gardening programs here have designed and planted. Mother Earth is going to have mosaic eyes and, maybe, Rapunzel “hair” made of squash vines speckled by red and orange nasturtiums and pepper blossoms.

NRPA’s funding has been instrumental to the rapid implementation of the Park District’s children’s gardening program. Thanks to the NRPA grant, the nature-based programming reached into gardening, which was not the focus before. “Before the grant, we only had $200 for supplies,” said Terri Gambetti, the Pekin Park District’s Superintendent of Recreation. With the grant, the Park District could buy shovels, hoses, wood for raised beds, seeds, and deer deterrent fencing — all 200 yards of 7-foot tall netting. Youth can now be bussed in at no cost to the agency bringing them, and programs aimed at low-income youth are offered for free.

Volunteers have sprouted from every corner including parents of children who attend the gardening workshops, Friends of McNaughton Park (a nonprofit organization to support the adjacent 800-acre woodland), YWCA, Boys and Girls Club, Salvation Army, Illinois Central College, and neighbors from surrounding towns. Then there’s Beth Wegner, a seasoned gardener and author, whose modest salary makes her nearly a volunteer. She’s the one who wants to make all the kids “Super heroes of Mother Nature” and “to fall in love with nature and learn how to take care of it.”

Based on designs coming directly from the youth gardeners, Ms. Wegner has guided the plans for the gardens: Brambles, where five different kinds of berries are planted; Fairy, the flower beds; four vegetable gardens; Sunflower House; The Bean Tepee; Melon Patch; Corn Maze and Native American Garden with corn, bean and squash beds. Plus there are the compost station, rain collector and the interactive interpretive trail. There are plans for a fall harvest. Three dates are set in September for all the volunteers and kids who have participated, as well as neighbors, to come by to glean, sample foods, and get recipes.

Fleets of volunteers, Master Gardeners and eager learners can make for a successful gardening season. But even with the richest soil, no program is rich enough to stay in the black over time. Using targeted letters, mass press releases, and word of mouth, Soldwedel Program Center staff plan to reach out to garden shops, green houses, the Pekin School District, and the public to seek donations for future needs.