There aren’t many places for children to go these days where they don\u2019t hear \u201cKeep your hands to yourself!\u201d\u00a0 or \u201cGet down from there!\u201d And they always seems to be holding some type of electronic screen, with a bottle of hand sanitizer not far away.<\/p>\n
A new “cognitive garden” recently built at UConn Avery Point is a place for those rules to be broken.<\/p>\n
Cognitive gardens are landscape features designed to encourage learning through the senses, experience, and thought. They tend to be designed for children, but can be enjoyed by people of all ages.<\/p>\n
The work began in March 2019 and was completed over the summer, although the process of building a garden like this is never really done.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s the brainchild of UConn student Annette Montoya \u201920 (CAHNR), who is pursuing an individualized major in landscape design for cognitive development. Montoya has a boatload of life experience in knowing why a garden like this is important. She already has one undergraduate degree and a master\u2019s degree. Montoya is also a 14-year military veteran, who saw active duty in Bahrain after the 9-11 attacks in 2001, and Bosnia.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was involved in community-supported agriculture and discovered I loved designing spaces and directing movements,\u201d said Montoya, who lives on a small farm in Waterford. \u201cI then started learning about children, and that the more sensory experiences a child has before the age of seven, the more complex their brain structure will be.\u201d<\/p>\n
Montoya applied for an IDEA grant through UConn\u2019s Office of Undergraduate Research with the help of one of her advisors, Jamie Kleinman, an assistant professor of psychology, who is based on the Avery Point campus.<\/p>\n
IDEA grants award funding to support student-designed and led programs, including creative endeavors and community service initiatives.<\/p>\n
Once the IDEA grant was approved, Montoya went straight to work recruiting workers and volunteers to make the garden a reality.<\/p>\n
Students from Grasso Technical High School in nearby Groton built a waterfall and a pollinator garden and did all the planting, including plants and herbs that visitors can pick, touch, and smell. The pollinator garden attracts various species of birds, butterflies, bees, and even bats.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou want some lavender, you want some oregano, go ahead,” Kleinman said. “Pick them and smell them.”<\/p>\n
Mosaic tiles for a labyrinth were made by students at Waterford High School, and those for an amphitheater were done by students at Nathan Hale Arts Magnet School in New London. Three Boy Scout troops in Groton built a \u201cberm whale\u201d made of grass that is perfect for climbing.<\/p>\n
The labyrinth is a place for visitors to follow a set path and spend time pondering what is around them.<\/p>\n