Learning Garden

Learning Garden. . , A Garden to Teach and Inspire , Dogfish Head Craft Brewery made the Learning Garden a possibility when they purchased the naming rights to make this critical DBG educational venue. Construction of the Dogfish Head Learning Garden began on March 14, 2018 and was completed in late May 2018. The designer/creator of the Learning Garden's freshwater pond ("Wetland Outdoor Classroom") was Envirotech owner Todd Fritchman, whose mission is to "provide environmental interpretation and education with natural ecosystems.", Ecologically significant non-tidal freshwater wetlands, once prevalent in coastal Delaware, are being lost due to development and land use practices. The Wetland Outdoor Classroom replicates the function of natural freshwater wetlands, supporting hardy, biologically diverse emergent wetland plant, insect and invertebrate species in rainwater that averages about 2.5' - 3' in depth. The native wetland vegetation along the created pond's edge also serves as one of DBG's green technology models, educating the public on its buffering value in improving water quality in surface and ground water., The site was selected as it provides full sunlight exposure for plants and sheltered microclimate conditions from the adjacent meadow habitat and surrounding dunes. Though constructed, the design-benefit allows students to effectively approach and study, through hands-on learning, a wetland ecosystem without disturbing an ecologically-sensitive natural one., [Captions:] , Created Wetlands for "hands on" student study and scientific analysis., The Learning Garden is the perfect location for classes, programs, and demonstrations throughout the seasons.