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Big-hearted 6-year-old has a passion for nature and people

3 min read

Good Stuff
Source: None

Young Delaney Cullen just received a grant to help with “The Little Garden That Grew” project.

“The Little Garden That Grew” project

Last year at the tender age of just 5, Delaney Cullen thought up the idea of “The Little Garden that Grew”. Along with the help of her parents, Delaney, now 6, wants to share her passions of reading and nature with others at her local library in Rutherfordton County, North Carolina. The project will provide a fun, outdoor reading environment for visitors of the library, as well as for outdoor library programs.

Delaney Cullen at the age of 5, thought up the idea of “The Little Garden that Grew” Now six, along with the help of her parents, John and Cathleen Cullen, founders of Life Roots, she wants to share her passions of reading and nature with others at her local library Source: Facebook/BrightVibes

Delaney hopes this project will inspire others to get outside and reconnect themselves in nature

The idea behind the project, "The Little Garden That Grew" came from Delaney Cullen. She is six years old, but is already exhibiting characteristics that we would all like to instill in our children. Her love of reading and her compassion towards both her fellow human beings, the animals, and this planet are driving forces in her life. 

This project will provide a fun outdoor reading environment for visitors to the library, provide shade on sunny days and protection from the rain on rainy afternoons. This garden won’t just encourage literacy. Delaney’s garden idea will also provide food for animals, people in her community, and help folks who come there to learn, learn about the diverse bioregion, renerative agriculture, and compassion for others.

Although her idea is for her community library to have this special place, she dreams of all libraries having a little garden of their own. How wonderful would it be to spread this little seed of an idea across the town, the state, the country, the World?

Source: YouCaring Main Image: Facebook/TheLittleGardenThatGrew

She always chose to be outdoors rather than in the house watching T.V. or playing with toys. She learned many of her basic skills such as counting, shapes, and colors by observing plants and nature all around her.
Delaney Cullen’s parents say she had always been an Earth angel She always chose to be outdoors rather than in the house watching T.V. or playing with toys. She learned many of her basic skills such as counting, shapes, and colors by observing plants and nature all around her. Source: Flickr/ThePollinationProject

As her love of the outdoors grew, she wanted to share it with others

Delaney Cullen’s parents, John and Cathleen, say she had always been an Earth angel. She always chose to be outdoors rather than in the house watching T.V. or playing with toys. She learned many of her basic skills such as counting, shapes, and colors by observing plants and nature all around her.

This was very exciting for Delaney’s dad, who had a background in Environmental Education. Delaney was an inquisitive child and at a young age began asking lots of questions about how plants grow and the different characteristics of animals. 

Delaney was full of curiosity and wonder about the world around her! She soon could name more flowers and other plants than most of us. She became very interested in how and what different plants could be used for. She asked more and more questions as her love of the outdoors grew, she wanted to share it with others.

She helped out with many volunteer projects with the Grow Food Where People Live Initiative. A program that goes into low-income communities and helps to educate people and help them to build gardens. It was then that Delaney saw that some people do not have enough food. Below, the Cullens are proud of Delaney’s thoughtful nature.

Source: AllCuteAllTheTime

The garden would not only promote literacy but also bring food in for animals and edible plants that people could munch on while enjoying a good read and the beauty of nature.
Delaney had a BIG dream! A dream of planting a garden alongside their library The garden would not only promote literacy but also bring food in for animals and edible plants that people could munch on while enjoying a good read and the beauty of nature. “We can just make a garden that we can read in and watch animals and we can feed people too!” — Delaney Cullen, with parents John and Cathleen Source: Flickr/ThePollinationProject

Delaney dreams of a garden that will be fun for kids and grown-ups alike!

With the help of mom and dad, Delaney applied for a grant through The Pollination Project. Delaney was awarded a $1,000 Seed The Change grant. This made her the youngest grant recipient through The Pollination Project in the world! 

Delaney dreams of a garden with pathways and tunnels. A place that will be fun for kids and grown-ups alike! She hopes her garden is filled with birds, bees, and butterflies. One of our favorite ideas that she has, is to have gnomes around the garden for people to play hide and seek with! Watch her video below to hear this little girl with a BIG heart explain her dream to inspire others!

Source: AllCuteAllTheTime

Passions of a little girl with a big heart will make a huge impact for communities near and far! Delaney, 6 years old, is the youngest recipient to receive a seed grant through the Pollination Project. She has an idea of putting educational gardens outside libraries and schools to help them with literacy and to reconnect them with nature Source: Youtube/TheLittleGardenThatGrew
Make an Impact

Please help The Little Garden that Grew to GROW!!

The Polination Project has granted Delaney a $1,000 seed grant to start this project. It is up to us to raise the rest of the funds needed. When this project succeeds we will be considered for a $5,000 impact grant to expand her dream to other communities.