A look at the future sensory garden space outside of Edwards Library. Planting of the space is expected to occur later this spring.
Reminder Publishing photos by Trent Levakis
SOUTHAMPTON — The Edwards Public Library has announced an exciting new addition to its outdoor space in the sensory garden, currently taking shape and set to blossom later this spring.
Funding for the new space comes after the library received a grant from the American Library Association to create a garden for special needs children who have sensory processing disorders, autism, developmental delays and sensory based disabilities such as deafness or blindness.
The sensory garden will provide a calm new space for children to live and explore in amongst various and vibrant plants to be added in the space. The grant is part of the ALA’s Libraries Transforming Communities special grants for small and rural communities.
“Our garden will encourage patrons to move freely and safely through pollinators, herbs and flowers,” said Edwards Public Library Director Johanna Rodriguez Douglass. “The library is grateful to the ALA for this grant which follows our 2023 lighting grant for blind and visually impaired patrons.”
Youth Librarian Andrea LeClair has led the effort to secure this grant funding and told Reminder Publishing that her thought process from the beginning was trying to identify a project that this funding could support that would add to the library’s outdoor offerings.
“One of the things I’m interested about is expanding out service outside. Looking at the space just outside of the reading room, we were sort of imagining what we could do with it. I was thinking about what kind of project would this grant fund, what is something else new that we could bring to the community? So, expanding outside was great, especially because of our location,” said LeClair.
While children of the library will get a lot out of this new sensory garden, LeClair noted that the project is meant to be enjoyed by patrons of all ages, including those with dementia and sensory impairments.
“What inspired me about the grant especially was that it didn’t have to be specifically tailored to children,” LeClair said. “When I was imagining it, the idea was that it was a community space, but specifically tailored to people with different sensory needs. Neurodivergent kids, younger kids in early development of understanding shapes and colors, but also seniors who need a moment of peace, or people who are suffering from dementia who can find something common and simple and straightforward to talk about in a garden.”
LeClair added that while the outdoor spaces and offerings of the library provide great programming for children, it also serves as a reminder for parents and community members that the library is a community resource with many offerings for all that come with it. She hopes the new garden can add to those efforts.
“One of the challenges of being a town library is that people maybe don’t know that we’re for them as well. A lot of people will come in and say ‘we used to bring my kids or grandkids here,’ and it’s like, ‘well let me tell you all the other services we have for you.’ So, the idea of having an outdoor space was just sort of more of that ‘who could benefit from this?’ and then the opportunity, of course, is that we can do more things outside,” LeClair said. “But just in addition, just trying to find something to give to the community that will especially be eye catching. Our location is just poised for someone to drive by and say, ‘wait what was that? What’s down there? Oh, the library, I wonder what else they could have for me.’”
LeClair shared that the new sensory garden will be frequented by many and is open to the public in such a manner. While planting’s won’t begin until later in the spring, LeClair said the space outside is free to observe for the public in anticipation of when gardening comes in to play.
She noted that an official celebration and ceremony for the new sensory garden will take place some time by June as the library plans to wait for the Friends of the Edwards Library’s Book Fair, the biggest fundraiser for the group each year, to take place in May before finalizing plans for the initial planting. She added that they will begin the planning process of what specifics to plant in the garden and welcome interested community members to reach out to see how they can get involved or help.
Special sights and features to be included in the garden have been chosen, thanks to a community survey released by the library. LeClair said the number one piece of feedback was to make sure the space includes a bench. The garden’s path has also been made ADA accessible.
“What I especially like about the garden is that it’s what we call in libraries, ‘passive programming.’ It means you can show up whenever you want and the excitement that I’ve heard from other people just talking about it that aren’t in either of our particular target groups, was just the idea of being able to take a moment and walk around and just be outside and not have to do anything,” LeClair said.
The library’s pug statue in memory of Sibyl Smith and a bench in memory of Shirley Joly, will mingle among the sights, smells and touchable elements of the new garden.
LeClair said the library’s building out of the new garden is flexible as they will decide on different plants to be added each year, will be considering annuals for the garden, and can always add more bench seating in future if it is called for.
Overall, the calmness of the space will offer something for many library patrons, regardless of age.
“I’m looking forward to just going out there when you just need a moment of peace,” LeClair added. “It’s just that moment, you need to take a break. We have lots of people who walk their dogs. That the garden can be a moment of pause for anything, I think that’s really important.”
The current path sitting where the garden will eventually blossom was installed by RJM Landscaping.
“As soon as things start going in, it’s going to look much more inviting. It’s going to evolve,” LeClair said. “My dream is in three to five years that whole area will be covered. In a couple years, maybe put something like tall grasses on the outside facing the road, maybe a bigger bush. Something like that.”
