Spring is on its way to Meerkerk Gardens, along with the visits of schoolchildren experiencing a Meerkerk Botany Adventure.

Meerkerk Gardens is seeking garden and nature lovers to help with school field-trip tours this year. As Botany Adventure Guides, volunteers will help shape the next generation in their appreciation of the environment.

Helpers needn’t be expert in horticulture or education, and volunteers are matched with tours that fit their schedule. Training is scheduled for April 19-21 at the gardens.

The Botany Adventure school field-trip tour for third- through fifth-grade students, “Plants, Pollinators and You,” focuses on the relationship between pollinators, flowers and our food supply. Students in grades K-2 explore plant growth and development in the field-trip tour, “Plants Alive!”

Tours consist of small groups of eight to 10 students. Each student also receives an activity-filled “passport,” enabling them to bring their family back to the gardens, free of charge, to enjoy further botany adventures.

For more information, contact Deborah Smith at deborah@meerkerk

gardens.org or visit www.meerkerkgardens.org/botanyadventure.