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The goals of the Reynolda Gardens educational programs for schools are:
- To share information on topics related to the art and
science of horticulture,
- To provide structured field experience as a complement to
classroom study,
- To encourage curiosity and creativity,
- To help young people become knowledgeable about and
comfortable with the natural world,
- To inspire a sense of stewardship for local and
world environments.
Special Features
Stewardship
To help illustrate the concept of environmental and social stewardship during their visit, students take away plants with them at the end of their visit and also leave something— a part of an exhibit at the Boathouse or a task completed in the Children's Garden— for later visitors' benefit.
The Children's Garden
The Children's Garden is a plot within the formal gardens. Students visiting with school groups make a stop there, weather and seasonal conditions permitting, to help plant, cultivate, or harvest vegetable and flowering plants.
The Boathouse Education Center
The Boathouse, once a private recreational center for the Reynolds family, is the base for education programs in the spring and fall. A small, informal exhibit area helps leaders introduce concepts for each visit. Students are invited to add natural items of seasonal interest, discovered during their visit, to the exhibit. The porch provides a sheltered location for students to observe the plant and animal life of the artificial wetland that remains of the Lake Katharine. Students prepare plants to take home on the Boathouse terrace.
Gardens-School Partnership
The Curator of Education works closely with teachers to help them prepare their students for the field trip. Teachers receive a PowerPoint presentation related to the program they have chosen. The presentations, fully illustrated with photographs of Reynolda Gardens, are designed to be shown in the classroom before the visit to help prepare students for the concepts to be discussed and the places they will visit during their field trip. The programs and presentations are listed below.
- Art and Writing in the Garden (The Naturalist in the Garden)
- Ecology of the Piedmont (Ecology of the Piedmont)
- Gardens Through the Year (Gardens Through the Year)
- Plants and Animals of the Piedmont (Plants and Animals of the Piedmont)
- Trees of the Piedmont (Trees of the Piedmont)
- The Winter Greenhouse (The Winter Greenhouse: Plants Around the World)
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Location
RGWFU is located in Reynolda Village, adjacent to the campus of WFU. The entrance to Reynolda Village is at the stoplight on Reynolda Road at By Way Street. Further information is provided when reservations are made.
Weather Policy
Winter:
If the Winston-Salem / Forsyth County schools are closed on the day of the scheduled visit, every effort will be made to reschedule.
Spring and Fall:
If it is raining on the day of the scheduled visit, every effort will be made to reschedule.
Group Size
Group size is limited to one class, with a minimum of 15 students and a maximum of 28. Adult chaperones, in addition to the teacher, must accompany each group.
Cost
The charge is $2 for each student. There is no admission charge for teachers or chaperones.
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