We are making a difference! Thank you to our generous ICG community for ensuring every child's right to play, learn, and grow outdoors.

Much gratitude goes out to the 63 ICG community members who made double the impact this spring and donated $9,000 toward program scholarships. With support of a 1:1 match from our generous anonymous donor, a total of $18,000 was raised! Your gifts help ICG expand and reach more children and families with hands-on, outdoor programming.

Scholarships help us provide equitable access to nature and ensure that no one is ever turned away because of a cost barrier. Thank you for uplifting the future gardeners, nature stewards, and environmental leaders of the world!

ICG has a long history of collaborating with Ithaca City School District - from Garden field trips to classroom and after school outreach programs.

In spring of 2022, ICG was named as a community partner in supporting ICSD's Project Innovation: Cultivating Connections, a 6 week summer program serving 250 students in grades K-5.

This Summer, we have hosted 6 classes from Project Innovation at ICG and welcomed several more self-guided groups. ICG has provided outreach to 4 classes, delivering container garden materials to over 80 students. Jason (he/him), ICG's Facilities Manager, created a mini greenhouse which he delivered to a class studying the power of the sun. Additionally, we’ve been working closely with teachers to plan their lessons and incorporate gardening activities into their lessons.

Through Project Innovation, we’ve forged relationships with many ICSD teachers, and we're excited that they want to continue working with ICG and plan to return for future field trips. We are super grateful for the opportunity to connect with even more teachers and students at ICSD!

Ithaca Children's Garden is flourishing as we approach August. The veggie garden shows it through the beautiful zucchinis and the aroma of herbs. The wildflower meadow sports bright blossoms and visits from butterflies. Summer camp proves this as the chorus of summer is filled with laughter, conversations, and signs left behind from the fifty campers we host each day.

Mid-summer is a time for both looking back and looking forward. Campers and counselors both enjoyed a muddy start to the summer so close to our celebration of International Mud Day. Cardboard cities have been erected and broken down. Garden magic has been spotted in the creation of small fairy houses and learning how herbs have their own type of magical properties. The bioswale and pond seems to have been thoroughly explored, and yet new discoveries are unearthed. Our Anarchy Zone is always an inspiration for child-created games and forts.

Counselors and campers alike look forward to the next 4 weeks of summer. With so many activities and fun to be found, summer camp at Ithaca Children's Garden continues to provide a welcoming place for children to do what they do best-- play!

With summer warmth,

Kelsey