Foundation donates $25,000 for Kouts library garden

Even as Porter County Public Library System works toward opening a new library garden in Hebron this year, it’s still taking donations for ones already opened at the other branches.

That includes a $25,000 gift for the 1st Source Foundation for the Kouts library garden, which opened in June.

The foundation previously donated $25,000 for the Portage library garden.

“We are thrilled to receive this generous grant from 1st Source Foundation,” PCPLS Director Jesse Butz said in a news release. “Their continued support allows us to expand our gardens and offer so many opportunities for our community to engage and connect with each other.”

The Kouts library garden includes a large fiberglass pig, a nod to the town’s history of holding Pork Fest every year and Harold Heinold’s Heinold Hog Market, which put the town on the map for the hog farmers and commodities traders. The pig is still available for a $10,000 sponsorship.

A pollinator station is also featured, allowing visitors to plant and tend flowers, available to sponsor for $4,500. Other features are available for sponsorships as well.

“1st Source Foundation is pleased to support the Porter County Public Library System with this grant,” 1st Source Bank West Region President Matt Vessely said in the release. “Early literacy is a vital component to a strong community, and spaces like the Kouts library garden bring people together to utilize the library’s extensive resources.”

The Hebron library garden, the final branch to see one, will include a $28,000 in-ground piano funded by the Hebron Redevelopment Commission as well as other features intended to reflect the character of the community.

Doug Ross is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.