PHOTO By BARB BARRETT/The Luminary On June 6th, PPL contributed $5,000 to the Penn State Lycoming Master Gardeners for the Lycoming Sensory Garden. (Left to right): Teri MacBride, PPL; Carol Loveland, Penn State Co-op Extension Office; and Master Gardeners, Jean Cleveland, Chris Doward, Coordinator for Sensory Garden, Sandy Murray, Karl Zierbe, and Helen Grosso. The group is standing in front of the future entryway to the garden.

MONTOURSVILLE – Another milestone took place for the Lycoming County Master Gardeners’ new Sensory Garden project. Having broken ground last October, and building the foundation for underground plumbing and wiring, another project will soon take place thanks to the generosity of PPL Corporation.

On Friday morning, June 5th at 11 a.m., a check for $5,000 was presented to the Lycoming County Master Gardening Program for the Sensory Garden. Supported through the Pennsylvania State University and the Cooperative Extension College of Agricultural Sciences, the project has been spearheaded by many dedicated volunteers who enjoy the opportunity to spread educational awareness and healthy enjoyment for others.

Chris Doward from Muncy saw this opportunity shortly after she became a certified Master Gardener. Under her direction, several grants got the project started that will ultimately provide many sensory-rich experiences for all ages and abilities.

“This generous donation will help to provide 6 garden benches and 4 gliders for visitors to rest upon and chat as they soak in the beauty of the garden,” said Doward.

“Not every project gets hands on activities like this,” said Teri MacBride from PPL who presented the check to a delightful committee of Master Gardeners working on the project. She added, “This is a good thing for the community, to involve the ethics of volunteerism.”

The carefully designed project will also provide interactive learning and a venue for future Master Gardener workshops with educational programming according to Carol Loveland, Coordinator for the Lycoming County Master Gardening Program.

“This recent philanthropic contribution from PPL will support the organization and community members,” Loveland announced.

Future projects will include a pergola and a human sun dial. Raised beds constructed with brick are planned and now under construction. “This will be a touch, feeling and see garden,” Sandy Murray explained. “There will be no poisonous plants,” and added that ten rasberry and 10 blueberry plants will be planted for next year. There will also be bells and an 8 foot circle of mosaics with chosen pathways leading to colorful areas of inspiration and solitutude.

“This will be a living classroom,” replied Helen Grosso, Master Gardener from Hughesville. “Our area needs something like this. It is great for learning.”