Comments on Toledo Botanic Garden, by Heidi Pursch

First of all, I would like to start out by saying that I was very excited about going on this 401 field trip, mostly because I had never been to several of the sites which we were visiting. I had already been to Wade & Gatton and Cedar Point, but other than that, it was all new to me. I was extremely impressed by the Toledo Botanical Garden and chose to do my paper on that site.

The Toledo Botanical Garden was founded in 1964 and started out with twenty acres, which has since grown to sixty acres, thirty-eight of which are currently taken up with the gardens. TBG has a vast array of gardens for the visitor's pleasure including a Color Garden, Perennial Garden, English Border, Cottage Garden, Grass Garden, Green Garden, Evergreen Grove, Pioneer Garden, Rose Garden, Vegetable Garden, Village Garden, Herb Garden, and a breathtaking Shade Garden. Toledo Botanical Garden gets its funding from the City of Toledo and by fundraisers for the Toledo Botanical Garden Board, Inc.

These fundraisers include money from memberships, earned income, special events, corporate funding, and public and private grants. Currently, they are having trouble coming up with the funds for new projects and general upkeep. Unfortunately, the same day that we visited them, they found out that their request for extra funds from the city had been turned down.

Many different programs, classes, and events are held at the Toledo Botanical Garden each year. Several of these programs are for children only and are designed to be educational. TBG offers the Homestead Program and Schoolhouse Program in order to teach children a little bit about pioneer life. In addition to these two programs, children can take part in natural laboratory classes at TBG, where they will study plant, insect, and animal habitats to give them a better appreciation of the environment. TBG is also involved in an outreach program called "Toledo GROWS (Gardens Revitalize Our World)" in which innercity children grow their own food, learn about nutritional values, and become more active in their community. Thirty-five of the participants in this program are awarded scholarships each year to attend Summer Day Camp for one week at either TBG or Lourdes College, depending on their ages. One thing that I found particularly interesting and was very much impressed with, was the fact that two nutrition educators from OSU Extension were helping to teach the day camp and that OSU Extension had also helped in funding the scholarships for the students. In addition to the children's classes, Toledo Botanical Garden also offers adult programs including workshops, classes, and lectures on topics for indoor and outdoor gardeners. Many events are also held in the Toledo Botanical Garden. During the summer months, people can look forward to enjoying CafÈ Concerts and Jazz Concerts in the picnic area of the garden. Also, Ohio's oldest outdoor art show, The Crosby Festival of the Arts, is held at TBG in late June. The Crosby Conference Center and other sites throughout the garden can also be rented out for such functions as weddings, receptions, corporate meetings, and any other event for which they may be needed. As I said earlier, I was extremely impressed with the Toledo Botanical Gardens and their efforts toward educating future generations about the past, present, and future of the environment and gardening. Even though they are having trouble with finding funds to run the garden, they are doing a very good job of keeping the garden beautiful and enjoyable for all visitors.