Goals in Gardens
Chester Upland Youth Soccer has launched a new program: Goals in Gardens. This initiative aims to bring children from under-served communities to some of Delaware County’s most picturesque locations for outdoor fun. Swarthmore College’s Scott Arboretum was the first Goals in Gardens destination, as the group benefited from new youth and family programming being offered there. Photo: Jeannine Fallon Anckaitis
On Saturday, July 24, children and families of Chester Upland Youth Soccer (CUYS) spent three hours on the gorgeous Swarthmore College campus enjoying a garden tour, a nature craft, a pizza picnic, and high-energy soccer in a picturesque setting.
Highlights of the tour included vegetable plants, prehistoric trees, colorful flowers and busy pollinators. Each child in attendance received a magnifying glass to more closely examine textures and other details. Favorite sites included the celosia plant that resembled a hot pink brain, the very unique apple tree, and the heart-shaped climber on a college building wall.
“It was a pleasure to take the children and their families on a short tour through our beautiful grounds and to engage them in a craft that exposed them to creative ways of thinking about nature,” said Mandie Curtis Banks, who serves as the Youth, Family, and Diversity Programs Coordinator for the Scott Arboretum of Swarthmore College. “Our Terry Shane Teaching Garden, Dean Bond Rose Garden, Metasequoia Allée, Amphitheater, and Magill Walk are consistent crowd pleasers for young and old, and this group was no exception. We hope that the Chester Upland Youth Soccer families will return often to visit those destinations and also explore other areas of our grounds since our gardens are free and open to the public from dawn to dusk, 365 days a year.”
The Scott Arboretum is excited to offer in-person youth and family programming in its beautiful gardens starting this September. The classes will be free and open to all who register at www.scottarboretum.org. “Mandie’s Nature Nook” is a weekly class offered on Thursday mornings at 10 a.m. for babies through PreK aged children and their caregivers. Also available for the youngest nature explorers, the “Garden Grooving” story yoga class will be offered on select Saturday mornings. Nature-based family workshops and events will also be joining Scott Arboretum’s schedule of programming starting in the fall. All classes/events will be held outdoors as long as the weather permits.
A complete fall schedule will be coming soon at scottarboretum.org. To get in touch directly with Mandie, please contact her at mbanks1@swarthmore.edu or at 610-328-7339.
On Saturday, September 11, from 11 a.m to 12 noon, the Chester Upland Youth Soccer will run a soccer clinic for all interested children, ages 3-14, at Little Crum Creek Park in Swarthmore. Ages 15+ are encouraged to participate as junior coaches. Following soccer, CUYS will host a picnic lunch and an exploration of the beautiful park. To learn more and to support access to this event, please visit donorbox.org/fall-2021-fun.
Through its Goals in Gardens program and other initiatives, Chester Upland Youth Soccer (CUYS) intends to continue providing enriching experiences beyond the soccer field for its participants. To make destination suggestions and to help support any element of CUYS programming, please visit cuys.org/donate.
