The Norman Bird Sanctuary, located on Aquidneck Island on the cliff above Middletown’s famed 3rd Beach and the Sachuest National Wildlife Refuge, was founded in 1949 by the bequest of Mabel Norman Ciero. Mabel Norman’s vision was for the observation, study and teaching of nature, both within Norman Bird Sanctuary’s borders and to understand our ecological context within a global system. The URI Master Gardener Program and the Norman Bird Sanctuary (NBS) have partnered on a demonstration garden to educate the public about growing native plants and vegetables using environmentally-sound practices.

 

The Good Gardens is both a demonstration and educational garden and serves as an important part of the NBS 325-acre outdoor classroom that accentuates the study of plants, pollinators, decomposers, nutrient cycling, food webs, Native American agriculture, and so much more. The Good Gardens is an organic vegetable and pollinator garden with high tunnel, composting area and Hügelkultur; an educational community hub for kids and adults; and a donation garden for Martin Luther King Jr. Community Center. The power of eating fresh food directly from the garden cannot be underestimated as a means of connecting kids and adults with the natural world.

To learn more about the Sanctuary, visit: normanbirdsanctuary.org.