Wild Ones Greater Baton Rouge is honored to partner with the LSU AgCenter and East Baton Rouge Master Gardeners to maintain three raised native plant demonstration beds in the Children’s Garden at the LSU AgCenter Botanic Gardens, also known as the Burden Center.
Our first native plants were installed in February 2024, and Wild Ones volunteers visit regularly to maintain and refresh the native plant beds and harvest seeds.
The Children’s Garden is located near the Ione Burden Conference Center and was recently completely upgraded. The garden is a wonderful space for all ages to explore, with playgrounds, shaded picnic table, Little Library, and the demonstration planters and beds with themes such as a native garden, pollinator garden, herb garden, edible garden and composting. Families can come anytime the grounds are open to explore, smell, and touch the garden plants.
The LSU AgCenter Botanic Gardens is a 440 acre green oasis in the heart of Baton Rouge featuring the Rural Life Museum, Burden specialty gardens, 3 miles of walking trails, LSU research station plots, and more. Visitors flock to the gardens for the trails, gardens, museum, private event spaces, and large annual events such as the Corn Maze, Arbor Day, Louisiana Lights, and the Master Gardener plant sale. The Trees and Trails area provides educational lesson plans and field trip site for grades K-8.
If you are hitting the trails, Brandon Johnson and Janie Braud, both Master Naturalists and Wild Ones members, have created a series of informational flyers about the plants and wildlife you may spot on the trails at different times of the year.
Recognition
We would like to recognize the following volunteers for their contributions to this ongoing project:
The seeds and plants are sourced from local native plant devotees, including Ian Richardson with Beaver’s Abundance Native Plant Nursery, Katie Clarke with Let It Bee Landscaping, Katrina Hashagen with Hashagen’s Farm/Nursery as well as local ecotype plants propagated by Janine Kharey and our Wild Ones chapter.
Ken Bosso, David Braud, and Sterling Sightler for facilitating this organizational partnership.
Janie Braud for applying for and receiving a Louisiana Native Plant Society grant for signage.
The dedicated volunteers helping with the bed maintenance, including Heather Blanchard, Kate Weinell, Jeffrey Dubinsky, and others!
