In the next three to five years, an $8 million children’s garden is intended to be the first phase of the Jacksonville Arboretum & Botanical Gardens’ new master development plan to come to fruition.

To fund the garden’s design, the Arlington arboretum’s board of directors has received a $50,000 challenge grant from the Delores Barr Weaver Legacy Fund and is seeking a matching $50,000 in donations from the public. The board wants the design to “strike a healthy balance between education and recreation,” featuring the environmentally diverse plants and animals found on the grounds.

“One of the pillars of our new strategic plan is to deepen our educational impact on arboretum visitors … not only to encourage them to experience the awe of nature itself but become an active participant in its appreciation and growth,” board president and chairman Kevin Blalock said. “We are thrilled for this additional grant … so we can provide this new resource to the Jacksonville community.”

Read the rest of this story at the Florida Times-Union, a Jacksonville Today news partner.