Through a donation to the Marian Foundation, the Knight Family has ensured their young son's love of the outdoors will be passed on to other children, through Jacob's Garden.
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| Jacob's Garden on the day of the dedication ceremony, Tuesday, April 12, 2011. |
Throughout his life, Jacob was known at the Marian Children’s Center and by his family for his love of the outdoors. Jacob’s inherent curiosity for nature will now be an inspiration for other students at Marian Children’s Center . The Center's outdoor classroom, which has been dedicated to Jacob, serves as an optimized learning environment where children can utilize their senses to explore and discover the joys of the natural world. Just a few amenities of Jacob’s Garden include a creek bed with floating dinghy and a manual water pump, a tree house, garden planting area, boulder climbing area and every child’s delight, a mud play area.
“Although his health condition continued to worsen, Jacob never lost interest in his love for playing with dirt and insects. He always had a rock in his pocket and a rolly-polly in his hand,” remembers Paula Van Galio, Marian Children’s Center Director. “Jacob was the type of child that had a true passion for being outside and learning from nature. Due to Jacob’s brave fight against cancer Marian Children’s Center is proud to dedicate our newly completed Outdoor Classroom in his memory.”
In 2005, Jacob Knight was diagnosed with a brain tumor and died of cancer in 2008. Jacob will always be rememered at Marian Children's Center.
Read the Santa Maria Times article about Jacob's Garden (pdf).
