Explore, Learn, Grow

Join us for an Extension Connection Community Day at the Kane County Idea Garden on Sunday, Aug. 30 from 1-3 p.m. This FREE open house event will feature demos, tours, and activities highlighting the environment, gardening, food, wellness, youth development, and more. Our team will be joined by: Master Gardeners, Master Naturalists, 4-H families, and other Extension volunteers. 

Participants can:

• Tour the Master Gardener Idea Garden and enjoy flowers, native plants, vegetables, herbs, and more. Each plot focuses on a specific educational element or "idea" that visitors can learn from or even replicate at home.
• Stroll our Book Walk featuring Giraffes Can’t Dance written by Giles Andreae. Explore themes of self-confidence, perseverance, and the celebration of individual strengths while you read together and move like the story’s characters!
• Meet Herman the Worm and his friends, while learning how worms can turn kitchen scraps into garden fertilizer! A worm bin (or vermicomposting) is a great way to create compost at home and reduce waste. Learn what should (and should not) go into your worm bin, how composting works, and get an up-close look at our very own Extension worms. 
• Experience Monarchs on the Move and learn about the Monarch Butterfly, the challenges it faces to survive, and its unique lifecycle. Youth will have the opportunity to explore hands-on activities and can take home their own paper butterfly that flutters!
• Create their own flower bouquet from the Master Gardener cutting garden. (donations accepted)
• Explore the Master Gardener Artisan Market, featuring:
  • Honey
  • Jewelry
  • Pottery
  • Textile and fiber arts
  • Nature photography and greeting cards
  • Garden- and nature-inspired gifts
  • Bagged soil
  • Native plants: New England aster, Blue lobelia, Anise hyssop, Cardinal flower, Pale purple coneflower, Yellow coneflower, Lanceleaf Coreopsis, Common milkweed, Bebbs oval sedge, and Wild bergamot 

This event is FREE. Participants are welcome to bring non-perishable food or personal care items to be donated to a local food access partner.