“We wanted to have an outlet for kids to write outside and use it as an inspiration,” 4-H Educational Coordinator and Workshop Director Jessica Wright said.

Wright led the children around the garden, pointing out flowers that smelled like popcorn, plants usable to brush your teeth and plants that react to touch.

“People are trying to get their kids outside,” Wright said. “They’re inside school all year, then inside at day care.”

Seven-year-old workshop attendee Miranda Lebednick said exploring nature is more enjoyable than being indoors.

“I like to learn about nature because people get to go outside and feel and touch everything and it’s more fun than being inside,” Lebednick said.

Meghan Szidik, another 7-year-old workshop attendee, said it’s fun to write with her friends and she thought the weather helped the experience.

“I like that it isn’t too hot and isn’t too cold and my mom said I could make lemonade still,” Szidik said.

Wright said the program has grown from her ambitions to combine literacy with the garden atmosphere.

“They enjoy the freedom of (the writing) and spending time in the garden,” she said. “Let’s find a spot somewhere and write what I want to write.”

East Lansing resident and workshop volunteer Marlene Cosgrove said the structure differs from school, and provides children a different way to learn during the relaxed summer days.

“It’s not a school situation where you have to write six pages today,” Cosgrove said. “It’s an enjoy where you are and write situation.”

Farmington Hills, Mich., resident and workshop volunteer Lilian Lebednick attended the program during its first years, and decided, after outgrowing the age requirement, to volunteer and help other kids. Lebednick pointed out she is using her own past experiences to help others improve their writing.

“I give them suggestions and help them in ways that I used to struggle in,” Lebednick said. “Their imaginations are so big, and as you get older you stop thinking about that kind of stuff. It’s interesting the stories they come up with.”

And fostering their imaginations is what Wright had in mind from the beginning.

“I love to interact with kids this way,” she said. “It’s small so you get to know them and their ideas. Their imaginations always exceed my expectations. They take what I planned to a totally different level. I love it.”