The ribbon cutting for the new garden
A new addition to Winding Hill Park North offers park-goers of all ages a chance to excite their five senses.
A Celebration of Nature—a sensory garden that contains a variety of plants, each targeting a specific sense—is now open to all after a short ribbon-cutting ceremony on Wednesday. The five sections are adjoined by winding pathways and labelled with signs describing the area.
“The touch area has plants that are fuzzy, and some are even a little rough,” Upper Allen Township (UAT) Parks Director Chad Krebs said. “The smell area has a couple of different fragrant plants.”
The sight area, he added, is full of different kinds of flowers that bloom at different times of the year, as well as plants and shrubs. Meanwhile, the taste area has edibles like blueberries, strawberries and fruit trees, while the sound area has place for songbirds, as well as rustling trees and grasses, Krebs said.
While working on other park improvements like parking and landscaping in 2023, Krebs said that the perfect space opened up to add the sensory garden—an idea that had been discussed often among the inclusivity-minded UAT Parks Department.
“It’s a nice way to create tranquility in the area, and it is accessible to folks of all ages and abilities. So, this really is an opportunity for everyone in the township to enjoy this park,” UAT Commissioner Ken Martin said.
The park received support during its creation from UAT parks and recreation board and the UAT board of commissioners, as well as from a day of volunteering from students at River Rock Academy in Carlisle.
Krebs said that he is looking forward to seeing how the garden will grow and evolve over time.
“It’s obviously very young right now, and we’re really excited in five years or so to see what it really looks like when all the trees mature,” he said.
Click here for more information about Winding Hill Park North.
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