DANVILLE — Children’s laughter and conversations between children, their teachers, parents and grandparents are just some of the sounds envisioned returning to the former Douglas Elementary School site.

Neighborhood members gathered with other members of the public and local officials at a ground-breaking ceremony Thursday afternoon in the warm sunshine for the new Douglas Discovery Garden at the flagpole at the former school property across from Douglas Park.

Mayor Scott Eisenhauer and his father, Harry, officially planted the first flowers in honor of Harry’s wife, Jeanne, who passed away last year. She was one of the original dreamers of the project.

The Eisenhauers were followed by neighborhood association members and others pitching in and getting their hands dirty to plant the first flowers.

The youngest gardeners were 2-year-old Addison Stonecipher and her 6-year-old sister, Parker. Their mother, Mary, is a garden committee member. She wanted them to be part of the first plantings.

Two-year-old Addison didn’t like getting her hands so dirty, but Maria Sermersheim, family nutritional program coordinator with the University of Illinois Extension’s Vermilion County unit, assured her “but they will come clean.”

Sermersheim said her two children also will benefit from the garden.

Parker was excited about helping with the flower planting.

Boy Scout Troop 365 also helped with the flower bed.

Also at the ceremony were Brad and Donna Chezem and their 5-year-old son, Alex.

The Buchanan Street residents are working with other Stone Arch Bridge (formerly called Rabbittown II) Neighborhood Association members to start their own community garden north of Threads of Time.

“I think it’s great,” Donna said of the Discovery Garden.

She enjoys gardening and going to Douglas Park with her son and granddaughter.

The ceremony also formally kicked off the fundraising efforts. The goal is to raise $10,000 to $15,000 for the first phase of the garden.

“We’re just getting our toes in that water,” said Anne Sacheli, sales director at the Danville Area Convention & Visitors’ Bureau and chairwoman of the Douglas Discovery Garden steering committee.

Ideas, plans

The idea for the garden developed after a group through Danville Gardens took a trip to Lansing, Mich., to see the Michigan State University’s children’s garden. The group then thought why not have a similar garden here.

A committee started meeting about three years ago.

Sacheli said the garden is being called a Discovery Garden because it’s not just for children.

“It’s more. All generations are represented,” Sacheli said. Intergenerational activity is a new travel trend.

The garden’s mission is to: beautify the historic Douglas Park area, promote educational and recreational opportunities in addition to healthy lifestyles and ecological awareness for all ages and groups, to install civic pride and to celebrate Vermilion County heritage.

The Discovery Garden will be located on 2.25 acres of city property.

Landscape architect Professor Greg Pierceall’s University of Illinois students drew plans for the garden.

The first phase of the garden will include the original plantings that took place Thursday, installing irrigation pipes and electricity and constructing a green roof pavilion.

“We’re ready to start this summer,” Sacheli said about the pavilion that will have plants on top of it. “We’ll expand that building (the size of a small shed at the beginning) as we’re able to.”

After that, sidewalks, more plantings and other areas will be addressed.

Also planned: a local history area with a railroad car, mining car and brick making; human sundial; tree house; sensory garden; farm garden and prairie area with a barn and orchard; herb garden; and amphitheater.

The garden will pull in the city’s history and displays to make learning fun, Sacheli said.

“It could take 10 years to make it really happen,” she said.

She said it took the committee more than a year to create the non-profit garden organization.

Funds already have come in for the garden. Memorials made in Jeanne Eisenhauer’s name to the garden are funding the first plantings.

“We’re looking for grants and donations,” Sacheli said. “We’ll plant the garden in phases. It’s a long-term process.”

Also, she said the committee will take any bricks, a railroad car and about anything else, including more ideas as donations.

“We’re really serious about this. (The groundbreaking) shows the neighborhood our good faith intentions,” she added.

Mayor Scott Eisenhauer said he’s proud the former school site will be a destination location and still will be an educational site for children and adults where they can “learn the love of watching something grow.”

HOW TO DONATE

Money donations for the Douglas Discovery Garden can be made to: P.O. Box 923, Danville, IL, 61834-0923 or dropped off at the Danville Area Convention and Visitors’ Bureau, 100 W. Main St., Suite 146, at the David S. Palmer Arena.