Session 5: Garden Guardians – Totems, Talismans & Protectors of the Patch

“Every garden has a spirit. Today, we make it visible.”

In this session, kids create their own Garden Guardian: a protective character or symbolic figure meant to “watch over” the garden space. Guardians can be whimsical, fierce, funny, gentle, or mysterious. This is an art-forward session with just enough nature-connection to feel rooted in the outdoor space: kids will gather textures and inspiration from the garden, then build a standing guardian totem (or optional mask) using simple materials.

The goal is to help kids see gardens as living communities worth caring for, while giving them a creative project they can take home or help install in a garden corner.

Historical Inspiration Spotlight: Indigenous Guardians & Protective Symbols

Across many Indigenous cultures, people have created protective symbols, carvings, and figures to honor the natural world, mark important spaces, and tell stories about the relationship between humans and the land. We’ll talk about this respectfully in a broad way: humans have long made art that says, “This place matters. We care for it.”

We’ll connect that idea to what the kids are doing: creating a guardian that represents care, protection, and belonging in nature.

What Kids Will Do

1) Guardian Lore: What Does a Garden Need Protecting From? (Warm-Up)

Quick group discussion, playful but grounded:

• What helps a garden thrive? (sun, water, soil life, pollinators, patience)

• What challenges a garden? (too much heat, too little water, pests, storms, trampling, neglect)

Then we introduce the idea:

A Garden Guardian isn’t about “scaring.”
It’s about reminding—protecting the garden by helping people notice it and care for it.

Kids pick a guardian “type” from a simple menu (or invent their own):

• Pollinator Protector (bees, butterflies, hummingbirds)

• Soil Sentinel (worms, roots, mushrooms, compost magic)

• Weather Warden (rain, sun, wind, storms)

• Weed Wizard (keeps balance without being mean)

• Kindness Keeper (protects the garden from careless feet, harsh words, or neglect)

• Night Watcher (moonlight guardian, quiet and mysterious)

2) Nature Scouting: Find Your Guardian’s “Power Symbols” (Outdoor Walk)

Kids do a short, supervised garden walk to collect non-living natural items for texture and design:

• fallen leaves, dry grass, tiny sticks, pinecones, seed pods, interesting stones

Kids choose 3 “power symbols” and record them quickly in their Outdoor Journal:

• sketch the item

• write one word for what it represents (e.g., “stone = strong,” “leaf = growth,” “seed pod = potential”)

3) Build the Guardian (Art + Engineering)

Main build option: Totem/Standing Guardian
Each child creates a guardian using a simple base and stacked elements.

Base ideas (choose what you’ve got):

• cardboard tube (paper towel roll) + sturdy cardboard base

• small stack of recycled boxes

• a wooden stake or dowel anchored in clay/foam

• a small flower pot “body” with a tube rising from it

Build steps:

• Build the core structure (standing base + body)

• Add facial features or symbolic “front” (eyes, mouth, emblem, shield)

• Add textures from nature (leaves, pods, twine, bark rubbings)

• Paint/marker details: patterns, “team colors,” warning stripes, cosmic swirls, etc.

• Add a Guardian Sigil: a simple symbol that represents its job (a sun, spiral, eye, wing, root, droplet)

Optional engineering challenge:
“Make it survive the wind test.”
Kids gently blow on it or fan it—does it tip? How can they reinforce the base?

4) Share & Take Home

Kids do a quick show-and-tell:

• One design choice they’re proud of

• What their guardian protects

• Where it should stand (sun corner, path edge, near herbs, near bug hotel area, etc.)

What Kids Learn

Nature & Science

• Gardens are ecosystems: living communities with needs and balance

• Natural items have structure and function (seed pods, leaves, stems, textures)

• “Protection” can mean care, observation, and good habits—not fear

Art, Design & Engineering

• Building a stable structure (base, balance, reinforcement)

• Pattern-making and symbolic design (sigils, repeated motifs, theme colors)

• Using found textures to add visual interest and meaning

Literacy & Social-Emotional

• Naming, storytelling, and identity-building through art

• Expressing values: care, responsibility, respect for shared spaces

• Sharing ideas, listening, and celebrating others’ creativity

Take-Home Items

Each student leaves with:

• One Garden Guardian (totem/sculpture)

• Journal pages with sketches, symbols, and a guardian purpose statement

Practical Notes for Parents

• Mess factor: Moderate (paint/markers + glue; minimal dirt handling)

• Materials: Provided; kids may bring a small clean box/tube if they want a specific “body shape”

• Outdoor time: Yes—short garden walk to gather non-living textures and inspiration

• At-home support: Ask your child to “introduce” their guardian at home. Place it near a plant or garden spot and let the guardian’s rule become a family reminder (ex: “watch where you step,” “water gently,” “be kind to bees”).

Pricing & Registration 

Each weekly session is $50 (+6.2% SD sales tax) and includes all materials. Weekly Wacky Wednesday open art lab sessions are also $50/ea+tax.

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