Adult Education

From walks to workshops, festivals to full-day seminars, our horticulture and environmental education programs provide learning opportunities to fit a variety of interests, schedules, and skill levels. Horticulture offerings include instructional programs on gardening and landscaping skills and garden ecology, as well as informal opportunities such as plant exchanges, garden walks, and gatherings designed to bring gardeners together to share resources and ideas. Environmental education is centered on increasing understanding and building connections between people, communities, nature and the environment.

Featured programs include:

• The Living With Mother Earth year-round series includes panel discussion, lectures, films, hands-on workshops, and artistic presentations. Join us to learn about our earth: how horticulture and farming practices over the centuries have changed it, the role of industry in our environment, and what choices we need to make to improve it.
  
  
• The Miami Valley Gardening Conference is the largest and most successful of its kind in the region, providing a full day of learning for over 300 participants on a variety of topics.
  
  
• MetroParks Master Organic Gardening program visits several MetroPark sites including Wegerzyn Gardens. This is a 14-week program that provides gardeners with practical information and hands-on experience in organic gardening. It includes a commitment of volunteer time to the MetroParks' gardens and creates an on-going connection for gardeners between classmates, staff, and local gardening resources.

Apprenticeships and internships are available through Five Rivers MetroParks. Partnerships with local schools and colleges provide Service Learning opportunities. Call (937) 277-6545 for additional information.

Youth and Family Education

Our trained professional staff works throughout the year to provide a variety of programs that encourage children to discover, experience and love our world through gardening. Monthly hands-on programs for preschoolers, homeschoolers, and families are advertised in ParkWays and our membership newsletter, The Garden Bridge. .

• Youth Garden Club (ages 6 - 11) is for children who are interested in hands-on gardening and nature activities. During club meetings, children will assist with design, planting, and care of vegetable and flower gardens in the Children’s Discovery Garden, as well as incorporate harvested plants in fun cooking & craft projects. Participants will use gardening concepts to complete projects, explore and enjoy the gardens, and maintain a creative garden journal.
• City Beets (ages 12-15) is a summer program that strives to create active youth leaders through the process of growing, sharing, and selling food. Teens in this program grow food in the community garden and sell it at the 2nd Street Market.
• Outdoor Explorer Club (October – March, ages 8-12) helps get your kids away from the television and out into the fresh air! Outdoor play for children builds healthy bodies, releases energy, reduces stress, and encourages creativity and a curiosity to learn. Along with a naturalist, participants will explore and play in the great outdoors, while learning about Ohio plants and wildlife. Activities include: skipping rocks, digging holes, wading in a creek, tracking animals, and building forts.
• Children's Discovery Garden Summer Activity Schedule
  Daily activities for children take place during June, July and August. From searching for fossils to looking for insects or learning about vegetable gardening, the Children's Discovery Garden offers many activities that will encourage your child to learn through nature exploration.
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We also offer special programs for schools that tie practical gardening experience to the Ohio Academic Content Standards. Please call the Youth Education Department at (937) 277-6545 for more information.

School Tours

To Schedule: Call Bernadette Whitworth at (937) 277-6545, ext. 1611.

The Children’s Discovery Garden offers a variety of educational field experiences that address Ohio Academic Content Standards.