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Joyful screams and chatter filled an outdoor classroom as children hopped from log to log, trying not to fall into the imaginary scorching lava on the ground below them.
The “Secret Garden” at the Learning Center at Madison Street in Wilmington, Delaware is one of the first nature classrooms in the city.
“It will definitely stretch their imagination, and it’s a better learning experience,” said Vanetta Tull, the day care’s director. “The little secret garden — they can do so much stuff in there. Girls can have little tea parties, or like they are right now, playing on the little obstacle course.”
The new outdoor classroom, along with a new pollinator and vegetable garden, in West Center City are among more than two dozen similar projects led by the Delaware Nature Society that aim to enhance communities and alleviate the effects of climate change.
The environmental group received federal dollars from the Delaware Watershed Conservation Fund in 2023 to support the projects.
“This may be one of the only spaces that [the kids] have access to to actually be immersed in nature. And so, just being able to help provide that access for the community and to introduce some more elements of play,” said Kerry Wilson, the organization’s habitat outreach manager.
Children play in the Secret Garden at the Learning Center in Wilmington, Del. It is one of the first nature classrooms in the city. (Zoe Read/WHYY)
The vision was initiated by “Ms.” Caren Turner, who died in November after a battle with glioblastoma. Turner, a community leader with Interfaith Community Housing of Delaware, wanted to expand healthy food options among educational settings in food insecure neighborhoods such as West Center City, as well as plant pollinator gardens.
Before the project began, the playground at the Learning Center was unsafe, and a hole cut into the chain link fence allowed trespassers to enter and use drugs at night. The concrete area was barren, and barely used by the children.
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