Fall 2020 marked a wonderful milestone of our partnership with the Junior League of Birmingham, whose “Can You Dig It?’ service track has enabled the Friends of Birmingham Botanical Gardens to share these beloved Gardens with tens of thousands of local schoolchildren.
By Ellen Hardy
Over the past two decades, thanks to the commitment of the Junior League and dozens of volunteers, our Discovery Field Trip program has expanded and grown from one field trip offering (Barber Alabama Woodlands) to now seven field trips. JLB has been a faithful supporter and has been the cornerstone for what is the Friends’ flagship education program.
By providing fantastic volunteers, materials for teachers, and school bus transportation, JLB continues to enable us to offer a curriculum-based science experience tailored for Birmingham City Schools grades K-6 in the unique and beautiful setting of Birmingham Botanical Gardens. Science comes alive for students while outdoors in our many garden settings. This fall, as many Alabama schools have chosen to limit field trips and embrace socially distant learning to slow the spread of COVID-19, JLB has pivoted with us, allowing us to bring our field trips and companion storytimes to students during these challenging days. We continue to work together to light a spark for science and the many important lessons—and promise—that nature provides.
Watch our first collaborative, virtual Discovery Field Trip below, featuring volunteer CeCe Todd. Then, check out its companion storytime and other JLB-led videos on our YouTube channel. Teachers, we invite you to explore additional resources for use in the classroom on our digital field trips page.