The NEST

Filling out your October calendar?🎃

Pencil us in this month!

October 12th: Field trip to the aquarium🐠

- Meet there at 11
- kids must have an adult in charge of them there at all times

*We have 9/25 spots left for registration*

October 29th: Halloween party at the Library!📚

🕕 4:30-7:00 pm

This event is intended to be family friendly with hands on activities that parents and grandparent can enjoy with their kids and grand kids.

All ages are welcome🫶🏼

🐠 Adventure is calling! 🐠

The NEST🪺 is heading to the Jenks Aquarium for a fun-filled field trip! 🪸🐙🦈

We’re opening registration to the first 25 kiddos for a FREE aquarium trip with a paying adult per family. Come explore colorful coral reefs, amazing sea creatures, interactive exhibits, and complete a scavenger hunt together! 💙

📅 October 12th
⏰ Meet at 11:00 AM | Return around 2:00 PM
📍 Jenks Aquarium Lunch Hall
🥪 Bring a sack lunch!

Spots are limited, so don’t wait to get your little explorer signed up! 🐡

Questions? [email protected]

💡Volunteer Spotlight💡

Today we’re shining a little light on someone who brings so much of it to The NEST🪺

Stephanie has volunteered with The NEST🪺 in so many ways, but on our garden days, she truly rolled up her sleeves and got to work! From pulling weeds and getting her hands dirty to simply giving her time and energy, Stephanie has helped us build something special right alongside her community. She doesn’t hesitate to do the behind-the-scenes, sometimes messy, sometimes downright dirty work that makes a community project come together.

Her willingness to serve, encourage, and show up is exactly what community is all about. ❤️

Stephanie, thank you for donating your time, getting your hands in the dirt, and helping us grow something beautiful here at The NEST🪺 You are truly a light in our community, and we’re so grateful for you!

Help us give Stephanie some love in the comments! ⬇️

And speaking of community… 👀

We’ve missed you!

The NEST🪺 is getting ready to bring events back this October! 🍂

We’ve been working behind the scenes on some fun things for our community, and we can’t wait to share what’s coming.

Here’s to another season of growing together. 🪺

🌱What’s Growing Wednesday?🌱

Looking for a more natural way to help manage garden pests?

Pictured here is the watermelon 🍉 growing at the community garden located at Ingersoll Public Library - Inola. It’s currently being guarded by these two gorgeous African Marigold plants (natural pest repellent) but that didn’t stop a swarm of ants from moving in.

Food-grade diatomaceous earth (DE) is made from fossilized microscopic organisms called diatoms. When insects crawl through it, the tiny particles damage their protective outer coating, causing them to lose moisture and die.

Benefits:
🐜 Helps control infestations from crawling pests like ants, aphids, beetles & earwigs
🪨 Mineral-based and naturally occurring
🧪 Doesn’t rely on traditional chemical insecticides
🪏Easy to apply around the garden

Remember: Always use FOOD-GRADE DE, not pool-grade. Avoid breathing the dust, apply lightly to dry areas, and use it carefully since it can also harm beneficial insects like bees and other pollinators! 🐝

Nature has some pretty amazing tools for the garden! 🛠️

Have you used diatomaceous earth in your garden?👇

💡Volunteer Spotlight💡

This week, we’d love to celebrate one of our incredible volunteers, Brittany!

Whether she’s pulling weeds, planting, watering, or lending a helping hand, she shows up with a joyful heart and with her little one right by her side. ❤️

Brittany, thank you for investing your time, your energy, and your heart into the work you do. You are an inspiration to us all, and we are so thankful to know you and work alongside you!

The garden is growing because of volunteers like you!

🌱 What’s Growing Wednesday? 🌱

That scratchy sponge in your shower didn’t have to come from the store… it can grow in your garden!

Luffas are actually a member of the gourd family, growing on long, climbing vines. When picked young, they’re edible and can be cooked like squash. But if you let them fully mature, the inside transforms into a natural sponge!

Once they’re dry, simply peel off the outer skin, shake out the seeds for next year’s garden, rinse the fibers, and you’ll have an all-natural, biodegradable sponge that’s perfect for the kitchen, bath, or even cleaning around the house.

Nature is full of surprises, and luffas are one of our favorite examples of how a garden can provide more than just food. 🌿

Did you know luffas grew on a vine, or did you always think they came from the store? Let us know in the comments! 💬

🌱 What’s Growing Wednesday: Recap Edition! 🌱

What a season it’s been in the Community Garden! Every week has brought something new to discover, and it’s been so much fun sharing the journey with all of you.

Here’s a look at what’s been growing:
🥬 Lettuce
🍅 Tomatoes
🧄 Garlic
🧅 Onions
🌿 Dill, Rosemary, Basil
🥒 Cucumbers
🍉 Watermelon
🥕 Carrots
💐 Zinnias
💜 Lupine
🫛 Sweet Peas
🌼 Marigolds
🪻 Lavender
🌻 Sunflowers
🧽 Louffa

Along the way, we watched caterpillars turn into butterflies 🦋 and released them in the garden, we held a ladybug 🐞 release, we’ve watched lettuce go to seed, learned why saving seeds matters, celebrated the role of companion planting, and even welcomed black swallowtail caterpillars that will one day become beautiful pollinators.

The garden is more than a place to grow food…it’s a classroom, a gathering place, and a reminder that growth takes time, patience, and care. Every seed, every bloom, and every harvest tells a story. 📖

A very special thank you to every volunteer who has spent time pulling weeds, planting seeds, watering beds, spreading compost, harvesting produce, and encouraging others along the way. Your willingness to serve has transformed this garden into more than just a place to grow food. You’ve helped cultivate a space where families learn, friendships are built, and our community flourishes! We simply couldn’t do it without you, and we are so grateful for each of you! With that being said, stay tuned for a special announcement 👀

And as always, remember to stop by the garden at Ingersoll Public Library - Inola and see what you can do to help and check out what’s currently available for harvest!

Thank you for following along with our What’s Growing Wednesday series! Which plant has been your favorite to watch this season? And what would you like us to feature next? 🪺

Local Spotlight: Flour Mama

One of our favorite details from our recent Adult’s Night event were these absolutely adorable bird’s nest cupcakes from Flour Mama! 🪺

We love supporting local businesses, especially those who put so much creativity and care into what they make. Thank you, Lexy, for helping make our event even more special!

If you’re looking for treats for a birthday, baby shower, community gathering, or your next special event, we definitely recommend checking out, Flour Mama! 🧁

We’d love to continue highlighting the amazing small businesses in our community. Own a local business or know someone we should collaborate with? Tag them in the comments! ⬇️

We’d love to connect and explore ways we can support one another while building a stronger local community!

🌱 What’s Growing Wednesday? 🌱

Here at the community garden, the lettuce had reached the end of its growing season and began to bolt, sending up flower stalks and producing seeds. Instead of seeing that as the end, we saw it as the beginning of the next cycle. 🥬

We pulled the old lettuce plants, mixed them into the bed along with composted plant material, added a layer of fresh topsoil, and gave everything a good watering.💧

By returning those seeds to the soil and creating the right conditions, we’re encouraging the lettuce to naturally reseed itself for a future harvest. ☀️

One of the greatest lessons a garden teaches is that nothing goes to waste. Old plants become nutrients, seeds become new life, and every season prepares for the next. 🤗

Regenerative gardening is all about working with nature instead of against it and proof that even after one season ends, there’s always another one waiting to grow. 🌈

Here at The NEST🪺, we believe some of life’s greatest lessons are found in these simple cycles of the garden. 🔄

Visit the garden at Ingersoll Public Library - Inola and see what’s growing for yourself! 🌱

🪺