As we celebrate the opening of the Discovery Garden, we look forward to witnessing the seeds of curiosity, compassion, and creativity flourish within its vibrant borders. Together as a community, we are sowing the seeds of a brighter future for generations to come.

Here is a little bit about the garden written by IMPACT Communities: In 2022, Impact Communities researched heal equity in Ellis, Dallas, and Navarro County. We found that reading levels among 4th graders had declined through COVID. Our coalitions worked on a strategy to increase reading levels and get youth excited about reading by expanding the learning environment to the outdoors with a literacy garden. The literacy garden is used to promote reading with a story book garden, social emotional enrichment to reduce stress and promote positive attitudes, teach science through the illustration of plant life cycles and worm bins, and for adaptive learning and behavior. The garden project was adopted by Leadership Ellis County 2022-23 class. Leadership Ellis County helped to raise money for the garden, built a reading platform under a garden tree (through the donation of Mint Exteriors) and also installed a little library cabinet in the garden (through the donation from Baylor) where students could check out books. In the past year, reading levels have increased and the garden has had a positive impact on student learning and behavior.