GREENFIELD — A warm spring sun reluctantly poked out from behind the clouds, and they took advantage of the moment, pulling on their gardening gloves and getting to work.
Between Saturday’s scattered showers, dozens of local volunteers spruced up the landscape outside the Hancock County Public Library in Greenfield to create a garden they hope will serve as a learning tool for generations of local children.
Members of the 2018 Leadership Hancock County class, with special help from the Hancock County Master Gardeners Association and staffers from Greenfield’s Home Depot store, have been working to design a community flower garden that will sit along the western edge of the library, just outside the children’s section.
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The area already has an indoor “Nature Nook” section, complete with a viewfinder, similar to those found at any major tourist attraction. Kids love to use the viewfinder, which points outside the western window of the library; but there’s rarely anything interesting to look at outside besides the nearby cornfield, librarians say.
Now there will be so much more to discover, they say. With the garden in place, kids will have a chance to watch plants, herbs and flowers grow and learn more about the birds, butterflies and bees the foliage will attract.
Donations have been pouring in from landscaping businesses and area nurseries, and Saturday, organizers broke ground on the garden with a community dig day, where members of the public came out to lend a hand as the garden beds were prepared.
The garden is one of six community-improvement projects now underway, thanks to the efforts of the 2017-18 class of Leadership Hancock County, an eight-month immersion in discussions and experiences for budding leaders throughout the county.
Children’s librarian Jena Mattix is a member of this year’s class, and she’s spearheaded the creation of the community garden. The project’s goal is to create a colorful outdoor space with plenty of natural beauty, she said.
The new garden area will also serve as an outdoor space for families to spend time together and for the library to hold programs, Mattix said.
Having the library be the center of a Leadership Hancock County project will only enhance the efforts library staff has already taken to make the library a welcoming place, director Dave Gray said.
And the new community garden isn’t the first Leadership Hancock County project the library has played a role in.
For example, in 2015, a leadership group, led by library staffers, put Free Little Libraries around Hancock County. These mini libraries, placed in parks and along community trails, house donated books for families to read at the location or take home to read. Last year’s Leadership Hancock County class crafted a sustainability plan for the Free Little Libraries around Hancock County, ensuring they’ll be there for local families to enjoy for years to come.
Young library patrons, along with local 4-H’ers and Boy Scout and Girl Scout troops, pitched in throughout the afternoon Saturday, digging out a flower bed, planting and making decorations, like bird baths and feeders for the garden. Some even made clever use of recycling, spraypainting old tires bright green, blue and pink to use as makeshift planters for the flowers.
And they were happy to help, their leaders said.
Jana Witte, who helped Saturday with her 4-H group, said opportunities like these help younger 4-H’ers learn what it means to be a good leader and responsible citizen in their hometown. Spending the day doing a little fun outdoor labor is great for character development because high school and middle school students had a chance to guide the younger members through the work, she said.
“This library is like a destination for learning,” Witte said. “If we can spur that on, it will just work hand in hand so we can give back to the community.”
One of the best parts about the new children’s garden is that kids were involved in its creation, Mattix added.
“We want the kids to have ownership over the garden and feel like they’ve been involved with it,” Mattix said. “I think it’s just a really nice way to bring the community together… hopefully it will stay here for a long time and have a good, long lasting impact.”
