Politics & Government

County Seeks Volunteers for Sensory Gardens in Gloucester Township

Freeholder Michelle Gentek joins the girl scouts and community members to help grow the garden July 26.

A local girl scout troop, members of the community and a Camden County Freeholder will come together to help grow a sensory garden in Gloucester Township.

Freeholder Michelle Gentek joins the girl scouts and community members to help grow the garden that will feature therapeutic and tangible features for children with special needs and will provide inclusion opportunities for students of all abilities on July 26.

It will be built on eight acres at the Lakeland Campus in the Blackwood section of the township.

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“We are all familiar with the delightful sights in the garden, but it doesn’t stop there- gardens are also filled with wonderful smells, textures, tastes and even sounds,” Gentek, liaison to Sustainable Camden County, said. “The volunteers will fill raised planting beds with vegetation that you can not only smell, but touch and eat. They will also build a water feature to fill the garden with soothing sounds.”

The Environmental Park will also include the first certified outdoor classroom in South Jersey through the Explore Nature Program. The classroom will accommodate Camden County schools looking for an outdoor experience without having to travel long distances.  The classroom’s focus will be on environmental initiatives such as composting, organic growing techniques, native plants, Community Supported Agriculture (CSA), rain water harvesting, renewable energy, along with rain and vegetable gardens.

Find out what's happening in Gloucester Townshipwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

“At the site, we will reinvigorate a series of greenhouses that have sat vacant for several years,” Gentek said. “They will host classes in collaboration with the Rutgers Master Gardeners program on topics such as what ornamental plants are best to grow in this region, how to grow and maintain a vegetable garden and how to integrate pest management (IPM) techniques into your garden.”

The Camden County Environmental Park is located at 512 Lakeland Road in Gloucester Township.

“Some great things are already happening at the Environmental Park. Since the beginning of this year, we’ve grown close to 10,000 plants, both annuals and perennials, which have been planted throughout the Camden County Park System,” Gentek said.  “This has created a substantial savings since we were able to buy much smaller plants and grow them with the help of our Rutgers Master Gardeners and volunteers from local municipal green teams.” 

Anyone interested in volunteering to help construct the Sensory Garden on July 26 should contact the Rutgers Cooperative Extension of Camden County at 856-216-7130 ext. 40009.


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