Our history
The Lawton Learning Garden is a result of creative collaboration between students, teachers, and parents that underlines the importance of nature and natural play in our lives. Work on the garden began long before groundbreaking on April 22, 2015. Students in Mrs. Julia Gold's 3rd and 4th grade classes during the 2013-14 school year became interested in and researched the importance of natural play (or play that incorporates elements of the natural world). Through their research, these students were inspired to create a natural playscape to better connect them with nature. A group of ten dedicated students, under the direction of Mrs. Gold, dubbed themselves the "Guardians of the Garden". Drawing from their research, the Guardians saw the importance of offering students the opportunity of becoming closer to nature by digging in the soil and tending a garden. One of the original Guardians, Aditi Ganesan, recalls the Guardians wanted to "build a garden so that students could learn more about nature, and interact with plants and flowers more. Some kids have never tended to plants before or done any gardening. The garden provides these opportunities to students, and allows kids to get closer to nature". Mrs. Gold and her Guardians, with support from their school principal, Mrs. Shannon Blick, and the Lawton PTO, presented their plan at school assemblies and at a local Ann Arbor bookstore in order to educate and garner support. The Guardians promoted the Lawton Learning Garden as an opportunity for outdoor education, nutrition, and community building.
Thanks to the dedication of two Lawton mothers, Jessica FunNell-Todd and Erin Dawe, along with their families, in collaboration with the Lawton Community and various Ann Arbor organizations, the Guardians were rewarded with the actual groundbreaking Spring of 2015, one year after their initial vision. FunNell-Todd and Dawe were responsible for obtaining countless donations and volunteered much of their time to finish the beautiful brickwork and build the shed. We are so grateful for their perseverance and commitment to the Lawton Learning Garden. Without their hard work, the garden could not have become a reality.
The Guardians of the Garden saw their vision flourish into the garden we see today, changing and evolving with each new year. When the Guardians first conceptualized the garden, it was to be more than a vegetable garden. It was to be a place where children would encounter the natural world--rocks, earth, sticks, water, plants. Then, using their imaginations, children would create and build and discover using these elements of the natural world. Megan Garrett, one of the original Guardians, remembers, "the Guardians of the Garden were most excited about building the Nature playground...the students could build their own forts and have a different playground everyday. With planters made of old trees, slides made of hollowed fallen trees...and just slabs of wood you could use to make anything your heart desires, as long as you set your mind to it". Currently, Mrs. Gold has enlisted the help of students, teachers, and parent volunteers to further the vision of the Lawton Learning Garden by reintroducing nature as a foundation for play. Please see our projects page to learn more about our wildflower garden, fairy and troll garden, and plant identification guide.
Thanks to the dedication of two Lawton mothers, Jessica FunNell-Todd and Erin Dawe, along with their families, in collaboration with the Lawton Community and various Ann Arbor organizations, the Guardians were rewarded with the actual groundbreaking Spring of 2015, one year after their initial vision. FunNell-Todd and Dawe were responsible for obtaining countless donations and volunteered much of their time to finish the beautiful brickwork and build the shed. We are so grateful for their perseverance and commitment to the Lawton Learning Garden. Without their hard work, the garden could not have become a reality.
The Guardians of the Garden saw their vision flourish into the garden we see today, changing and evolving with each new year. When the Guardians first conceptualized the garden, it was to be more than a vegetable garden. It was to be a place where children would encounter the natural world--rocks, earth, sticks, water, plants. Then, using their imaginations, children would create and build and discover using these elements of the natural world. Megan Garrett, one of the original Guardians, remembers, "the Guardians of the Garden were most excited about building the Nature playground...the students could build their own forts and have a different playground everyday. With planters made of old trees, slides made of hollowed fallen trees...and just slabs of wood you could use to make anything your heart desires, as long as you set your mind to it". Currently, Mrs. Gold has enlisted the help of students, teachers, and parent volunteers to further the vision of the Lawton Learning Garden by reintroducing nature as a foundation for play. Please see our projects page to learn more about our wildflower garden, fairy and troll garden, and plant identification guide.