In March 2026, Santa Fe Botanical Garden (SFBG) will break ground on the Barbara Goede Children’s Discovery Garden, which will be located on 1.2 acres in the southwest quadrant of the Garden.

The Children’s Discovery Garden is designed to engage children and families and encourage an awareness and love for the natural world. Exploration and unstructured play will promote curiosity and investigation into the science and conservation of our surroundings. Set among native piñon and juniper, the Children’s Discovery Garden is accessed through a shaded Gateway Pavilion with family restrooms.

At the heart of the Garden’s mission* is the celebration, cultivation, and conservation of our region’s biodiversity in partnership with nature. A foundational aspect of this work is to ensure that our children and grandchildren have the opportunity to develop a life-long awareness and love for the natural world. It is they who will continue to steward our rich botanical heritage in the years to come.

Santa Fe Botanical Garden’s mission is to celebrate, cultivate, and conserve the rich botanical heritage and biodiversity of our region. In partnership with nature, we demonstrate our commitment through education, science, conservation, community service, presentation of the arts, and the sustainable management of our public garden.

The Children’s Discovery Garden will be funded through public and private resources. To learn more about how you can support this project, contact Laura Leach, Executive Director, at [email protected] or 505.471.9103 ext. 102.

The Children’s Discovery Garden will be:

• A welcoming, inclusive, and educational destination
• A hub for expanded educational programming for children, families, and schools
• A resource for environmental stewardship and community engagement
• An opportunity to increase visitorship from children, youth, and families

Areas of exploration include:

• The Physical World – weather & climate, water, geology & geography
• The Living World – plants, animals, ecosystem
• The Environment – how the natural world works

The Children’s Discovery Garden will provide opportunities for experiential, hands-on learning through play in a natural, outdoor environment including:

• Outdoor garden areas with interactive, themed learning pods and play features
• Unstructured areas for children to freely explore, build, climb, crawl, and use imaginative play
• Quiet areas for children with low-sensory needs, reading, and resting
• Natural elements such as logs, stumps, rocks, tree cookies, wooden blocks, sticks, etc. connecting children directly to the natural world
• Water conservation systems and an acequia for water play and education
• A weather station

The Children’s Discovery Garden will be funded through public and private resources. To learn more about how you can support this project, contact Laura Leach, Executive Director, at [email protected] or 505.471.9103 ext. 102.