SEED Wildlife & Children’s Garden

The purpose of the Student Environmental Education and Discovery (SEED) Wildlife & Children’s Garden is to keep the dedicated vision of our garden creators alive by providing an additional place for visitor learning and enjoyment. The central focus is birdlife, seen as a marker of a healthy, diverse ecosystem of native plants and animals — especially small critters attractive to children. It is an outdoor learning and exploratory garden for all ages, which opened to the public in 2018.

The SEED Wildlife Garden provides several activity centers for budding naturalists to explore during our regular garden hours and as part of our dozens of educational programs and events. Activity centers include the Nature Play & Construction zone, Story Time area, Bird Observation Platform, Bird Nest, Bird Blind, Bird Feeding Station, Stream Bed, SEED Pavilion, Wildlife Den, Worm Digging, Living Tunnel, and programmatic gardens such as a Sensory Garden, Ozone Garden, Pollinator Garden and Healing Garden.  What makes this exploration garden even more special is it is 100% native and a certified Wildlife Habitat! That is, all the plant material and trees are native!

The Children’s Garden serves as a gathering space to promote community and backyard gardening. It provides raised beds, including two ADA compliant beds, and features edible plants, not just in the raised beds, but also in the ground and in the pots.  Enjoy a snack at one of the picnic tables or sample straight from the vine!

Furthermore, these gardens are maintained using sustainable practices: no chemical pesticides, biological control instead: compost, rain barrels, native plants, no lawn, limited water use, mulching, and a rain garden. 

Educational Programming

Educational programs include family seasonal events, scouting days, Story Time & More, Homeschool Explorers, Budding Naturalists, summer camps, educator trainings, and more! We also provide literacy based, nature-themed outreach to five different preschools, serving 22 classrooms, as well as a K-8 school for a weekly after school program exploring the gardens and learning about wildlife, serving all students enrolled. 

SEED Wildlife & Children’s Garden build

• 1994

  The Wing Haven Foundation purchases a parcel of property behind the parking lot to increase the acreage available as a natural habitat for birds and wildlife.

• 2015
  Children’s focus groups, stakeholder workshop, and community survey implemented to gather data for a potential new children’s garden.

• 2016
  Successful campaign to raise the funds to renovate the existing children’s garden and expand outdoor learning into a new garden — the SEED Wildlife Garden.

• 2017

  In collaboration with community partners, scouts, volunteers and trusted vendors, we broke ground on the future SEED Wildlife & Children’s Garden

• 2018

  First program takes place in the newly developed SEED Wildlife & Children’s Garden - July’s Story Time & More. In summer, campers use the new space for the first time.

• 2019

  Grand Opening