One Year Anniversary
One year ago, ADEC opened the doors to a new Outdoor Programming Space at the ADEC Resource Center.
This space was designed for community connection, engagement, and joy for the individuals we serve. Today, it has become so much more than we imagined. Our Outdoor Programming Space fosters exploration, skill-building, accessible play, education, and growth opportunities for everyone who enters the space.
In September 2025, ADEC welcomed community members to an open house celebrating the new space. The day included a ribbon-cutting ceremony, guided tours, and opportunities for community members to experience the space firsthand.
A year later, we see the impact of that vision.
From summer camp activities on the playground to hands-on learning in the garden, the Outdoor Programming Space continues to create opportunities for the individuals we serve to grow, learn, and connect.
A Place to Play, Learn, and Grow
Over the past year, the Outdoor Programming Space has welcomed campers, volunteers, families, and community members for a variety of activities and events.
Inclusive Play
ADEC Elkhart Summer Camp has been based at the Resource Center for two years, and the building’s expansion has given campers even more opportunities to enjoy their summer. With a fully ADA-compliant playground, pavilion, recreational space, and secure fencing, campers have a safe and accessible place to play, explore, and spend time with their peers.
Also is this space is ADEC’s After School Program! This program provides a nurturing environment where children with intellectual and developmental disabilities can socialize, participate in activities, and receive homework assistance.
But inclusive play is about more than having accessible equipment. It is about creating an environment where everyone has the opportunity to participate. The Outdoor Programming Space was designed with accessibility, safety, recreation, and connection in mind, and every day, individuals are putting that space to use.
Growing our Green Thumb
Another important part of the Outdoor Programming Space is the sensory garden, located behind the pavilion. With the help of Skills & Training participants and community volunteers, this garden has continued to grow both produce and opportunities for hands-on learning.
Each month, our Skills & Training participants are joined by a volunteer group to weed the garden, plant new produce, and care for the growing plants. Throughout the week, participants also tend to the garden by watering the plants, identifying helpful and harmful insects, and learning about the different stages of plant growth.
What may look like a garden to someone passing by is, for the individuals we serve, an opportunity to practice skills, make decisions, learn about nature, and take pride in something they helped create.
Growing More than a Garden
The garden has also created opportunities for individuals we serve to work side by side and build relationships with people throughout the community.
Growing Impact
In May, Seed to Feed, a program that works alongside food pantries to grow local produce, joined ADEC to plant vegetables and flowers. Seed to Feed has been serving the community for 15 years and has helped grow more than 3 million pounds of produce.
Working side by side, Seed to Feed volunteers and Skills & Training participants broke ground in our flower beds and began planting for the season. Thanks to their generosity and donated seeds, the garden is now home to lettuce, peppers, herbs, squash, eggplant, potatoes, and more!
Growing Knowledge
The following month, Teen Growers, a Seed to Feed program, returned to see how the new plants were growing. The teen volunteers worked alongside Skills & Training participants to identify and pull weeds, determine which plants were growing successfully, and learn more about gardening. But the impact of their visit reached far beyond the garden beds.
Every conversation, high five, and “good job” created an opportunity for connection. While the group was helping with much-needed weeding, participants were also practicing conversation skills, making new friends, sharing their knowledge, and watching the results of their hard work take shape. The garden was growing, and so were the relationships being built within it.
Growing Community
In July, Skills & Training participants welcomed Notre Dame alumni families to the green space for another day of gardening.
This group of volunteers didn’t come with a gardening background, but simply the call to volunteer. These families worked side by side with the individuals we serve, weeding the garden, caring for plants, and adding new produce. Together, they helped care for the garden while building new connections along the way.
More Than a Space
When we celebrated the opening of the Outdoor Programming Space one year ago, we envisioned a place where people could play, learn, and grow. What we have seen over the past year is something even more meaningful.
We have seen campers enjoy accessible spaces. We have seen Skills & Training participants develop new skills and take ownership of the garden. We have seen students thrive in the After School Program. We have seen volunteers become friends and community members work alongside the individuals we serve.
The Outdoor Programming Space is now filled with more than playground equipment, garden beds, flowers, and produce. It is filled with conversations, accomplishments, laughter, high fives, new friendships, and countless opportunities for the individuals we serve to be active and engaged members of their community.
One year in, the space is growing, and so is the community around it.
