By Patricia A. Scheyer
NKyTribune reporter
Anyone who has a child who loves dinosaurs will be excited to hear that there will be a Dinosaur Dig at the Children’s Sensory Garden in Presidents Park in Edgewood on August 31, from 2-4 p.m.
The Children’s Sensory Garden is located by the sand volleyball courts by the Adams shelter, and it measures only about 25 feet by 40 feet.
Last year’s dinosaur dig (Photo/Cathie Stapleton)
But Cathie Stapleton and her crew have made the most of a small area.
When the garden first opened last fall, it was the culmination of several serious efforts by
Stapleton, who worked as a social worker and a children’s counselor most of her life. She was determined to have a bit of land that could be for all children, but especially children who are autistic, and those who have special needs.
“Autism rates have gone through the roof in the past twenty or more years,” Stapleton said. “The spectrum is so vast, sometimes children need all their senses stimulated.”
Once CAO Brian Dehner helped her locate a patch of land, she plotted out what she wanted where.
The city donated self-watering pots, and planters, of various heights, and she gathered plants that had special textures and aromas that would appeal to different senses.
“I love our herb garden,” said Stapleton. “The kids can safely touch and smell the plants. We have mint, and that is a favorite, but we also have a chocolate mint plant, and it really smells like chocolate mint! We have another plant that has small fan-like leaves, and when you touch the leaves, they close up, like they are really shy. Later they open up again, and the children really like that.”
There is a portion of the land that has a plastic piece under the dirt and sand and embedded in the plastic are several dinosaur items, like eggs, bones, and fossils. Stapleton said they will be putting small dinosaurs in the dirt, also, during the dig so that the kids can dig them up and take them home.
Special plants at the Sensory Garden (Photo/Cathie Stapleton)
The ones embedded in plastic stay at the park.
There will be shovels and paint brushes to help carve out the dinosaur remnants. Since there are going to be a lot of little diggers coming to find the dinosaurs, Stapleton said they will also have digging sites and activities in the Adams shelter, which she rented for the occasion.
“We are going to have a dice game with these huge dice that have pictures on the sides and kids roll the dice, and then they have to do a dance like a dinosaur with whatever side they roll,” said Stapleton with a laugh. “That should be lots of fun!”
She said they have added ferns and palms and mosses to try and simulate a prehistoric environment where dinosaurs used to roam.
“We have partnered with the Kenton County Library, and they are going to put storyboard placards all the way down the path in the garden that tell a lot of facts about dinosaurs,” said Stapleton. “We also have musical instruments that they can touch or hit and make music.”
There will be stations where kids will take wooden dinosaur cutouts, about the size of a Christmas ornament, and they can put WOW butter on the wood, and then cover it with birdseed. WOW butter is a non-nut butter, and it holds the seed onto the wood. Once it dries the children can take it home or hang it in the garden.
Sensory Garden plants (Photo/Cathie Stapleton)
At other stations, the kids can make bracelets with dinosaur beads, a task that helps with small motor development and encourages concentration.
Stapleton is living her dream right now with her garden. She receives money from the city that was budgeted for the garden, so she has a funding source. She has eight volunteers and she would love to have more. Anyone who would like to help with the garden can contact Stapleton at cathie.stapleton@hotmail.com.
She said each person is assigned a week to work on the garden, making sure that the plants are watered and taken care of, and if there is any trash they pick it up.
“My volunteers are so committed and dedicated, they are great,” she said. “The city helps and the Library is partnering with us so that we can always have something new and exciting to do.”
Edgewood council members love that Stapleton has created this little oasis of learning in their city.
“The Children’s Sensory Garden playground is a great asset to our city that children and families will enjoy for a long time,” said council member Jeff Schreiver last year at the opening.“The playground was made possible by the support of the mayor, city council, and staff for the city, but could not have been done without the volunteers, under Cathie’s leadership, that continue to make it a special place. We hope everyone will come and enjoy it.”
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