The Garden & Nature Study Department
The Garden & Nature Study Department of the Woman’s Department Club brings women together who share a love of gardens, nature, and environmental conservation. Our Department serves as a fertile ground for friendships in celebration of the beauty the world has to offer.
Although members may not have a green thumb or a place to garden, we all enjoy gathering at our monthly department meetings to learn from guest speakers or take trips to visit and learn about nature in our community and beyond. Typically, a meal is shared at each meeting or trip, a way to further connect with members and nurture friendships.
The Garden & Nature Department or the Arts Department meets each month. You’ll find us outside during the warmer months as we explore gardens, parks, animals, and all things nature. Winter, when gardens and most critters are napping, we gather to celebrate friendships as we look forward to Spring.
Millie Vaughn, Garden & Nature Study Department, Chair
Upcoming Meetings
Garden & Nature Studies Department
October 27, 2026
“Welcoming Herbs into Your Landscape”
The first meeting of the WDC Garden and Nature Studies Department will be at 1:00 P.M. on Tuesday, October 27 at the West Branch of the Vigo County Public Library (Meeting Room), 125 North Church Street, West Terre Haute. We will hear presenter Treva Cook, President of the Wabash Valley Herb Society, give a pictorial program, “Welcoming Herbs into Your Landscape.” We will have a short business meeting following the program.
At 12:00 Noon (before the program), we will meet for lunch in the Private Dining Room of the Grand Traverse Pie Company, 75 North Third Street, Terre Haute.
Come for lunch and then hear at the VCPL West Branch an informative pictorial presentation on herbs, their beauty, and their use in a few recipes! Bring and share some of your own!
For further information or a reservation, please call 812-238-1706.
May Meeting Review
On March 24, the Garden and Nature Department program was “Plants in Indiana,” with speaker Marilyn Culler from Depauw University. Marilyn’s pictorial presentation highlighted various spots over Indiana, ending up in quaint Madison to the South. She started in the northern part of the state with beautiful pictures taken from the Dunes National Lakeshore, and moved around the state showing the wildflowers, plant life, animals, and land formations. She shared a quote from Carl Sandburg, “The Indiana Dunes are to the Midwest what the Grand Canyon is to Arizona and Yosemite is to California.” She shared the Smith Cemetery Nature Preserve, a Prairie Remnant in Vermillion County by the side of State Road 63. (This was one of the WDC’s Garden and Nature Field Trips planned and organized earlier by Leslie Bilyeu then Chairperson of the Department.) Her presentation, along with her lively manner, was well-received by the group. Following the presentation, the Election of WDC and Department Officers was held.
Millie Vaughn
Chairperson Garden & Nature Study