Emeline Gaujac and Naomi Sherman’s “Grow Up Curious” is one of the five winners of Boston’s “Community Grown” program, a three-year partnership between the Mayor’s Office of New Urban Mechanics, the City of Boston’s Department of Neighborhood Development, The Trustees, and TD Bank. The five winning projects bring people closer to nature and build community connections through group dinners, songwriting and storytelling workshops, and new pop-up neighborhood spaces, expanding the reach of Boston’s community gardens. The Community Grown program is part of the City of Boston’s Public Space Invitational, a civic design competition that seeks ideas that reimagine and enhance Boston’s public spaces.

Located at Joe Ciampa Community Garden in East Boston, “Grow Up Curious” is an interactive sensory garden made up of a series of immersive one-sense planters that connect children and families to nature through a playful intervention in an urban setting. At the first event in July, children interacted with nature, taking a guess at what kitchen herb they were smelling, matching the feeling of plants with magnets, or making music with bamboo. The second event hosted the “Stories From the Garden” program, leading a community painted mural. Families learned how to plant and care for a plant at home, with everyone receiving a free plant and enjoying some light gardening on the waterfront in East Boston. Connect on Facebook and join Emeline and Naomi for the last event of 2019 on September 21….