Posts Tagged ‘Andrew Krebbs’
Thursday, April 18th, 2013
Volunteers prepare for middle school Discovery Field Trips
On Tuesday, April 16, docents began training for new educational programming that will be offered to middle school students in Birmingham this Fall. Over the last decade, Discovery Field Trips has provided a free, curriculum based science education to nearly 100,000 Birmingham elementary students, and now, the program will begin expanding to include appropriate material for an older group.
If you are interested in becoming a docent and guiding these groups, please contact Volunteer Coordinator Taylor Steele at 205.414.3962 or tsteele@bbgardens.org. If you would like to know more about Discovery Field Trips and how your class can participate, contact Education Program Coordinator Ellen Hardy at 205.414.3953 or ehardy@bbgardens.org.
Tags:Andrew Krebbs, Birmingham Botanical Gardens, Blake Ells, Discovery Field Trips, Ellen Hardy, Taylor Steele
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Monday, April 15th, 2013
Get Into The Gardens: Tomato Container Gardening
Master Gardener Su Reid-St. John and her daughter, Zoe, led visitors to The Gardens in a demonstration of tomato container gardening in Blount Plaza on Saturday, April 13. Volunteer Katelyn Stansberry also assisted with the event. The next demonstration taking place in the Get Into The Gardens series will take place on April 27 at 1 p.m. as part of Earth Day at The Gardens. Get Into The Gardens is a FREE series of educational weekend programming which includes demonstrations, Hikes for Tykes and The Sunday Scene.
Earth Day at The Gardens is also FREE and is Alabama’s longest-running Earth Day celebration. This year’s event will focus on community gardening and will include live music in the Formal Garden. The event will be held 11 – 4 p.m.
Tags:Andrew Krebbs, Birmingham Botanical Gardens, Blake Ells, Get Into The Gardens, Katelyn Stansberry, Su Reid St.-John, Taylor Steele, The Gardens
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Friday, April 12th, 2013
Arrington Plant Adventure Zone: The Labyrinth
Our Plant Adventures programs focus on the significance of the interaction between people and their plants and gardens. In the month of April, the Arrington Plant Adventure Zone features a classical seven-circuit labyrinth laid out in stone on the grass ring. Plant Adventures Coordinator Jennifer Sanders explains the details:
Many people report that spending time in a garden nourishes their spirit. A popular feature in both public and private gardens, labyrinths have been used for centuries as a space for walking contemplation.
If you’ve never walked one before, fear not. You can’t get lost. From the entrance of the labyrinth, follow the path to the center. Once there, pause as long as you like for silence, reflection or prayer before returning along the same path to exit.
Our Plant Adventures labyrinth will remain in place until the end of April. We intend to make this an annual event, trying different labyrinth patterns in the future. And while our current labyrinth cannot be traveled in a wheelchair, we have plans in the works for a collaborative effort to establish a permanent labyrinth in the community that will be wheelchair accessible.
Directions: The Arrington Plant Adventure Zone can be reached by walking down the education hallway in the Garden Center and exiting through the double doors. It is open to the public during Garden Center hours.
If you’d like to be notified of future labyrinth plans or have questions or comments, please contact me at jsanders@bbgardens.org or leave me a note in the comment jar in the Plant Adventure Zone.
Tags:Andrew Krebbs, Arrington Plant Adventure Zone, Birmingham Botanical Gardens, Blake Ells, Jennifer Sanders, labyrinth, PAZ, The Gardens
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Thursday, April 11th, 2013
Photos from 2013 Spring Plant Sale
It was another successful year for Spring Plant Sale, held this year in the former J.C. Penney location at Century Plaza. Thousands took advantage of the wide selection and expertise offered at The Gardens’ largest plant sale of the year. Because of Birmingham’s support, the money raised by The Gardens at Spring Plant Sale allows it to achieve its educational mission, funding programs like Discovery Field Trips which has provided a free, curriculum-based science education to nearly 100,000 Birmingham area schoolchildren over the last decade. Check out some photos of the volunteers and people that made it great!
Tags:Andrew Krebbs, Birmingham, Birmingham Botanical Gardens, Blake Ells, Century Plaza, Fred Spicer, Spring Plant Sale
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Wednesday, March 27th, 2013
Garden Eggstravaganza!
On March 9, children gathered at The Gardens for “Garden Eggstravaganza.” The group learned how to use plants to dye eggs using natural plant dyes like beets, cabbage and onion. They were also joined by Peter Rabbit in the Vegetable Garden and performed a play!
Tags:Andrew Krebbs, Birmingham, Birmingham Botanical Gardens, Blake Ells, The Gardens
Posted in Education, Gardening, Photos | No Comments »
Friday, March 22nd, 2013
Get Into The Gardens!
Get Into The Gardens is a collection of free, educational weekend programming that includes demonstrations on Saturdays, bimonthly, at 1 p.m. Pictured are Su Reid – St. John and her daughter Zoe at the March 16 demonstration, “Easy Container Gardening: Planting a Strawberry Jar.”
Get Into The Gardens also includes Hikes for Tykes, a program offered in partnership with Fresh Air Family which encourages pre-school children and their families to explore The Gardens each Saturday at 10 a.m. The Sunday Scene will also return as part of this collection of programs on May 5 as visitors will explore the Fern Glade.
Check out the schedule of upcoming demonstrations at The Gardens and make plans to join us! To learn more, visit www.bbgardens.org/weekends.
Schedule:
• Saturday, March 16, 1 p.m.: Easy Container Gardening: Planting a Strawberry Jar
• Saturday, April 13, 1 p.m.: Easy Container Gardening: Planting Tomatoes
• Saturday, April 27, 1 p.m.: Easy Container Gardening: Planting Peppers
• Saturday, May 4, 1 p.m.: Easy Container Gardening: Creating a Mother’s Day Herb Garden
• Saturday, May 18, 1 p.m.: Easy Container Gardening: Building a Pollinators’ Paradise
• Saturday, June 8, 1 p.m.: Easy Container Gardening: Simple Watering Strategies
Tags:Andrew Krebbs, Birmingham, Birmingham Botanical Gardens, Blake Ells, Su Reid St.-John, Taylor Steele, The Gardens
Posted in Education, Gardening, News, Photos, Volunteers | No Comments »
Wednesday, March 20th, 2013
Arlington School helps prepare for Spring Plant Sale
Students from Arlington School recently joined staff members and volunteers at Birmingham Botanical Gardens for a service day project which supports their environmental science and biology curriculum standards.
Over 30 students and teachers, and 12 Birmingham Botanical Gardens volunteers from the native woodies group assisted in planting more than 2,500 germinated tree seeds including: Northern Red Oak , Post Oak, Chestnut Oak, Black Jack Oak, Mockernut Hickory, White Oak, Dog Wood, Southern Red Oak, Scarlet Oak and Laurel Oak
The Arlington School will assist with Spring Plant Sale on Friday, April 5, and will continue to work with The Gardens with the Centennial Tree Planting project through next fall planting at George Ward Park, Pratt City and Northeast Jefferson County.
To learn more about Spring Plant Sale, which will be held at the former J.C. Penney location at Century Plaza, visit
www.bbgardens.org/springplantsale. Join us for The Gardens’ largest plant sale of the year!
Tags:Andrew Krebbs, Arlington School, Birmingham Botanical Gardens, Blake Ells, Century Plaza, Spring Plant Sale, The Gardens
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Monday, March 18th, 2013
Friends of Birmingham Botanical Gardens staff members tour Conservatory renovation project
On Friday, Executive Director Fred Spicer took Friends of Birmingham Botanical Gardens staff members on a hard hat tour of the Conservatory renovation project. The $1.4 million project has begun in earnest with hopes of reopening the Birmingham landmark to the public by Fall. The Conservatory will serve as another site for educational programming, including Discovery Field Trips, The Gardens’ flagship program which has provided a free, curriculum-based science education to nearly 100,000 Birmingham students over the last decade. Check out photos from the tour!
Tags:Andrew Krebbs, Birmingham, Birmingham Botanical Gardens, Blake Ells, Discovery Field Trips, Fred Spicer, Friends of Birmingham Botanical Gardens, The Gardens
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Friday, March 8th, 2013
(Andrea Wulf, Director of Devlopment Olivia Alison, Spencer Lecture committee member Sue Ellen Lucas)
Andrea Wulf and Ben Page headline 2013 Spencer Lecture Series
The 2013 Spencer Lecture Series was held in the Linn-Henley Lecture Hall at Birmingham Botanical Gardens on March 7. New York Times best-selling author Andrea Wulf spoke at 10:30, while renowned architect Ben Page spoke at 6:30 p.m. The morning lecture, preceded by a book signing, saw 137 guests in attendance, while 214 attended the evening session.
(Murray Spencer South, Ben Page, Nancy Spencer Smith)
Tags:Andrea Wulf, Andrew Krebbs, Ben Page, Birmingham, Birmingham Botanical Gardens, Blake Ells, Murray Spencer South, Nancy Spencer Smith, Olivia Alison, Spencer Lecture, Spencer Lecture Series, Sue Ellen Lucas, The Gardens
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Monday, March 4th, 2013
Native Plants Group celebrates Larry Michalove’s birthday
On February 13, the Native Plants Group celebrated the 80th birthday of one of their long-time members. Larry Michalove is a dedicated volunteer whose cheerful nature and optimistic outlook make him a joy to have as part of the group. Native Plants group leader Betsy Fleenor said, “Larry is one of those people who always makes you feel good. He’s ready with a hug or a corny joke that makes you groan, and is willing to help in any way.” Larry is pictured with his wife, Sybil, who dropped by for the party.
Larry took a few moments to tell about his life, including the circumstances that resulted in his popular children’s book, “The Four Little Children.” The imaginative stories were originally mailed home as bedtime stories for Larry’s children while he served in the Viet Nam War. From the book jacket, “Larry didn’t write about the war or the 114 combat missions he flew, earning him the Distinguished Flying Cross and 8 air medals. Instead, he wrote tales about Martians and moon people and mermaids and the sea.”
Thanks to Larry for his service to America, his creative writing and humor, dedication to family and his years of service to The Birmingham Botanical Gardens. True to form, he refused to take home his left-over cake, instead leaving it for the gardening staff to enjoy.
Tags:Andrew Krebbs, Betsy Fleenor, Birmingham Botanical Gardens, Blake Ells, Larry Michalove, Native Plants Grou, The Gardens
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