Adkins Arboretum - Ridgely, MD

Adkins Arboretum Children’s Funshine Garden

This bright and colorful children’s garden is located at Adkins Arboretum and is an inviting space for children to explore, touch and learn about the wonders of both growing food and other plants. Features in the Children's Funshine Garden include a beanpole teepee, a mailbox with information, sand digging area, wood lizard balancing or seating structures, strawberry barrels and themed raised beds. The raised beds include a bunny patch for eating, a pollinator garden and a sensory herb garden.

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Adkins Arboretum Paw-Paw Playground

Adkins Arboretum’s nature playspace, Paw Paw Playground, is tucked into upland forest half a mile from the Arboretum’s Visitor Center. Surrounded by native pines, maples, sweet gums, and oaks, the playground includes two wigwams, a turtle-shaped tree stump ring, and a snake balance beam. The playspace was constructed by a local Boy Scout with a keen interest in Native American lore; the turtle and snake are both symbols of local Native American tribes.

Adkins Arboretum, a 400-acre garden and preserve dedicated to the conservation and preservation of the Chesapeake Bay region’s native landscapes, plans for continued development of the playspace. A woodsy mailbox full of inviting nature books is already in the works.

Paw Paw Playground is used as an outdoor classroom for the Arboretum’s many environmental education programs. The playspace has been enjoyed by school groups, homeschoolers, scouts, preschoolers, and visitors to Adkins Arboretum.

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