Botany meets literature

Children discover their world with all their senses. In Botanical Gardens, it’s a common sight to see how plants immediately spark children’s curiosity and imagination. Children’s literature also offers a wonderful way to spark an interest in plants, address questions, and weave them into exciting stories.

So why not bring literature into the garden for a change? asked staff members at the Botanical Garden and Dresden’s municipal libraries. In June 2026, the time had come. The result was the wonderful collaboration “Botany Meets Literature”: a training program for volunteer reading guides at elementary school libraries as well as reading mentors.

© Isabel Kirsche, Städtische Bibliotheken Dresden

Over a total of four sessions in June and July 2026, 73 volunteers were treated to a very special guided tour of the Botanical Garden. The focus was on selected picture books, children’s fiction, and children’s nonfiction. Following the trail of plants with magical and healing superpowers—as wonders and ingenious inventions of nature— participants not only briefly immersed themselves in the respective books at various stations throughout the garden grounds but also had the opportunity to observe the plants from the stories in their natural setting and learn interesting facts about their biology and way of life.

Following the tour, there was an opportunity to explore the featured children’s literature in more detail, browse through the books, and exchange ideas with the other participants.

The volunteers received ideas and inspiration for their work on how books and stories can be used to help children develop an appreciation for plants and biodiversity. The bridge built between literature and botany makes botanical knowledge tangible and experiential. It combines the joy of reading with science education and invites both children and adults to keep asking questions, to marvel, and to remain curious.

We look forward with excitement and anticipation to further collaborations in the future!

This professional development program is an initiative of the Dresden Municipal Libraries and the Dresden Botanical Garden.