Blue Lake Natural Discovery Garden is a place where kids can get their hands dirty. They can touch and smell plants, identify bugs, explore a worm compost bin, create garden art and make the connection between the dirt and their dinner plate. They also learn about how to protect what they love about the garden – this one and the one at home – by tending them without the use of harmful chemicals that threaten our health and pollute our waterways.
Located inside Metro’s Blue Lake Regional Park in Fairview, just 20 minutes from downtown Portland, it’s an ideal setting for a garden, perched on a rise just yards from the natural lake fed by underground springs. The park offers a wide range of family fun, including picnicking, boating, a water spray park (right next to the garden), and an all-natural play structure just installed this year.
Park visitors are welcome to stroll the discovery garden on a self-guided tour anytime during park hours. But on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, garden staff provide popular guided activities that help children learn as they explore.
“In the Natural Discovery Garden, kids can play and learn at the same time,” says Metro natural gardening and toxics reduction planner Carl Grimm. “Kids who connect with nature and learn about how the choices we make affect our water, wildlife and health are going to be less likely to use toxic products – in the garden and beyond – as adults.”
Interpretive signs, new to the garden this year, help visitors of all ages identify and interact with plants, animals and insects and educate growers of all levels and interests about organic gardening techniques.
The garden is divided into themed sections. The rain garden is in full bloom right now with monkey flower, columbine and daisies. Nearby, one garden bed is full of plants to smell, while another is home to plants to touch, from the soft, fuzzy lamb’s ear to the sand-paper-like “dinosaur food” plant (Gunnera manicata). The pizza garden includes tomatoes, onions, garlic, oregano, basil and bell peppers, helping kids understand where one of their favorite foods comes from. The native plant section provides gardening inspiration while the kids are digging for fossils or playing bingo in the garden.
“They don’t try to just get four in a row for bingo,” says Metro natural gardening and toxics reduction educator Paul Sanford, who leads the kids’ weekend activities. “They try to find everything on that card.”
Those activities also include creating garden-inspired art, from potato stamping to leaf rubbing to animal origami, and a Wonder Worm activity book. Parents read the activity book with their kids in the garden, and talk about the dangers of pesticides, and the benefits of bugs.
Kids get to meet some of those bugs up close and personal, and once they learn the names of them, they are anxious to share. “The kids turn into the educators,” says Paul, describing how excited they are to tell new arrivals to the garden what they’ve learned.
The garden also offers monthly family natural gardening seminars that educate and inspire all ages.
“The garden plays an important role in a key Metro objective,” Grimm says. “Helping residents around our beautiful region use less toxics in their gardens and homes to protect our kids, our pets and what makes this a great place to live.”