Ithaca Children's Garden

Ithaca Children's Garden is one of a kind; you won’t find another place like it.

This unique, child-centric 3-acre public garden, is free and open to the public, dawn to dusk, 365 days a year. ICG is a nationally recognized public garden, winning the 2017 American Public Garden Association Program Excellence Award.

Welcoming all is Gaia, the extraordinary turtle. She symbolizes people’s connection to the earth, this unique place, and Ithaca’s first people. Yet Gaia is just the beginning of what there is to explore. Come walk the Bulb Labyrinth, nibble from ICG’s Kitchen Garden, or play in the Hands-on-Nature Anarchy Zone.

Innovative, research-based education for sustainability is vibrantly woven through all ICG education programs, camps, teen employment, seasonal workshops, family programs, and special events such as International Mud Day, Scarecrow Jubilee, and Festival of Fire & Ice.

Permaculture, playwork, and child-directed learning are cornerstones of ICG’s approach, along with a commitment to an inclusive environment that values and respects diversity of culture and identity.

Local collaborations, such as the ICG-Greenstar Partnership for Healthy Kids, and belonging to the Just Be Cause community, help ICG maximize service to this community.

ICG has been honoring the whole child and fostering environmental stewardship since 1999. Ithaca Children's Garden is your garden. Come explore!