Visit the WV Botanic Garden to benefit mind and body

The mission of the Botanic Garden is “to foster learning, inspiration and well-being through the beauty and wonder of plants, the natural environment, and culturally enriching experiences,” per their online mission statement.

The Botanic Garden offers programing that is focused on wellness of mind and body, Executive Director Philip Smith said.

Yoga instruction, mental health walks, arts programs, journaling events and guided mushroom and bird walks are just some of the events offered by the Botanic Garden throughout the year. The Botanic Garden also hosts drum circles and teaches ecstatic dance classes.

Additionally, the Botanic Garden offers guided nature walks that teach participants how to experience a hike, Smith said.

It’s important to be able to let go of work or school and be truly present with a calm mind in the forest, Smith said.

Over the summer, the West Virginia Botanic Garden offers six weeks of summer camps for youths 4-13 years old.

“We have great professional staff that lead kids to learn more about birds, bugs, ecology and plants,” Smith said.

The West Virginia Botanic Garden also has a Children’s Adventure Garden with a frog pond, tunnels and room for kids to play.

Last year, the Botanic Garden welcomed more than 2,000 students from across West Virginia who attended the garden on a field trip. Teachers bringing their students to the Garden are even able to select which curriculum will be taught the day of their trip, Smith said.

The Botanic Garden also hosts Boy and Girl Scout troops throughout the year, Smith said, with Eagle Scouts having completed a number of development projects at the garden throughout the years.

One such project completed by Eagle Scouts is the Meditative Labyrinth, which has more than 500 feet of path for mindful meditation, Smith said.

Labyrinths are different than mazes in that they are not meant to be confusing or have dead ends, Smith said. Instead, the labyrinth at the Garden is meant to act as a meditation guide.

“Walking the labyrinth path aids in quieting the mind and opening the heart and provides a grounding for the body. Walking the path can help us connect with our own center or assist with clearing the mind as it seeks an answer to a question,” according to the West Virginia Botanic Garden website.

Other projects completed by Eagle Scouts include a number of trails, benches and even a small bridge, Smith said.

Eagle Scouts not only fundraised for the supplies but completed all the hands-on labor themselves, Smith said.

The land the preserve now rests upon was once called Tibbs Run Reservoir and was a large water-filled basin that provided drinking water to Morgantown until it was decommissioned and the basin was drained in 1996.

In 1999, West Virginia Botanic Garden Inc. signed a long-term lease with the City of Morgantown to take over the property and began their preservation efforts in 2000.

After 16 years, the West Virginia Botanic Garden commissioned a redevelopment plan from Oasis Design Group in Baltimore to map out a future of the property.

The Botanic Garden now adds more than a thousand new plants to the property each year, as well as art, sculptures and interpretive historic signage. This fall, paving the property’s roads will begin, and redevelopment of the core garden area will begin this winter, Smith said.

Botanic specimens at the Botanic Garden are planted “in harmony with nature,” as opposed to being planted more formally or in rows, Smith said.

Construction on the Botanic Garden Visitors Center is still underway. It will include a gift shop and a café where visitors can grab a bite to eat without leaving the Botanic Garden, Smith said.

The newly finished Terrace at Tibbs Run serves as a private event center for weddings, corporate meetings, internal programming, classical music concerts and the “A Season of Good Taste” events.

“A Season of Good Taste” events are events held throughout the year in which guests are treated to an elegant dinner in the Garden prepared by a featured locally-known chef.

In addition to the Terrace, the Botanic Garden has a secondary wedding venue, the Moon Gate.

The Moon Gate venue has standing room to accommodate about 15 people as well as some outdoor seating, Smith said.

While not as private as the Terrace, the Moon Gate is still an intimate venue that collides with nature.

During the fall and early winter, the Botanic Garden hosts a multitude of festive holiday-centric events which include the Fall Children’s Festival; the Howl-O-Ween Dog Trick-or-Treat; the Yuletime Pie Tutorial; and a holiday ornament workshop.

The Fall Children’s Festival “is the Garden’s biggest day of the year,” Smith said, and it includes fairy house building, pumpkin painting and other seasonal crafts for children.

During Howl-O-Ween, dog-related businesses such as veterinary clinics and pet groomers will be set up along the main path to give out dog treats, Smith said.

“Its hard to have a bad time seeing so many dogs ... well over a hundred ... dressed in costume,” Smith said.

Howl-O-Ween also includes a contest and prizes for the best-dressed pooch.

Because the events are so popular, Smith encourages those who wish to attend to register online as sometimes the garden must assign time slots to ensure there is enough parking for everyone.

Nonprofit businesses also took part in the 2023 Scarecrow Spectacular.

A dozen or more scarecrows are usually present in the garden by mid-October, Smith said.

More information about the Botanic Garden and information for each event, including registration fees, is available online at www.WVBG.org.