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D.I.R.T. offers free ‘gather and make’ sessions By Buffy Pollock Jul 12, 2022 01:00 AM A A Program has evolved with community need, says director Celina Weeg and Esteban Quintero III, 13, add mulch Friday at a hugelkultur garden in Central Point. [Andy Atkinson / Mail Tribune] Celina Weeg waters on a hugelkultur garden Friday in Central Point Friday. [Andy Atkinson / Mail Tribune] Seven years after the Central Point-based D.I.R.T. Park began in a downtown alleyway, facilitators are gearing up for a trio of free, hands-on, outdoor-classroom opportunities this summer at their gradually evolving space inside Skyrman Arboretum off Highway 99. “Gather and Make” sessions will run the gamut from learning about bees and pollinator gardens to gathering seeds and creating art with objects found in nature. Executive Director Taneea Browning said summer sessions would give kids a chance to get their hands dirty with some outside-the-box learning. Browning kickstarted the D.I.R.T. (Direct Involvement Recreation Teaching) Park in 2015. Tucked into the space behind a downtown restaurant, the park features colorful drawings on brick walls, while raised beds offer space for kids to grow fruits and veggies — or simply play in the dirt — with gravel and a slew of other materials on hand to teach topics such as water containment and erosion. Browning’s vision for the “dirt park,” which moved to the arboretum a handful of years ago, has always been to get kids outdoors for organic experiences in nature. Brown said the program focus has evolved based on community needs. Last year, amid the pandemic, Browning and volunteers ran a successful summer camp. This year, however, local schools and some other entities are back to offering summer camps. “The school district is doing its thing and has some really amazing programs going on, so we didn’t really feel like we needed to compete. We’ve tried to really navigate based on the needs of the community and being able to provide unique opportunities,” she said. “Our Gather and Make series this summer is a great way to keep people connected, and it’s really multigenerational. We have parents and kids come in, and the parents learn about some things they were interested in with their kiddos tagging along, and they might get something entirely different from the time they spend here.” She added, “Our focus is twofold. We want to get people outside and also to help them become more familiar with our wonderful arboretum.” In addition to the myriad types of trees at the arboretum and the chance to play in the soil, D.I.R.T. offered a beekeeping experience last year, which allowed participants to take home personal-sized hives that would produce honey. In addition, a free after-school program for Scenic Middle School students provided field trips and hands-on projects such tree identification and riparian restoration, with plenty of chances to get muddy and laugh with newfound friends. On Friday, program leader Celina Weeg and 13-year-old Esteban Quintero checked in on a hugelkultur system implemented during day camp last summer. Hugelkultur is the process of making raised garden beds filled with discarded wood debris, straw and other materials. A low-maintenance garden that doesn’t require irrigation or fertilization, hugelkulture beds have naturally good drainage and produce rich, fertile soil. Students created the system and planted a pollinator garden on top, Weeg said, to “help out the bees.” Esteban pulled some weeds Friday and teased that the mound-shaped system looked like an unlikely burial site. “When we were building it, we were all teasing about it looking like a grave, so that was pretty funny,” said the teen. “But it was actually really cool to do because I had never heard of a hugelkultur before, so getting to work on it was really neat. It’s a great way to give plants all the nutrients they need to grow.” Esteban said the wooded parcel next to Oregon State Police was a fun space to spend time, and he said he hoped to check out upcoming summer opportunities. Browning said she looked forward to upcoming community offerings — sessions are free, but preregistration is required. “In just seven years, it’s been unbelievable how much we’ve done. We started behind Ma’s restaurant as a parking-lot outdoor-education center,” Browning said. “And now we have this beautiful arboretum space, and we’ve fostered a number of community partnerships.” Browning said the outdoor space was a vital component for local schools and families during the pandemic. “With COVID, it was even more important than ever that we kept doing what we do. A lot of kids nowadays live in smaller places and in apartments or in ‘zero-lot line’ type places with no room for gardens,” she said. “We want to give kids a place to come and be able to play in the dirt. It’s a really important part of growing up … and it’s what we’re all about.” Gather and Make sessions will be July 16, Aug. 20 and Sept. 17. For more info, or to preregister, see mydirtpark.org Reach reporter Buffy Pollock at 541-776-8784 or [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter @orwritergal.