Assisted by Haley Cook, Seymour Mayor Matt Nicholson presides over a ribbon cutting for a new butterfly garden at Westside Park that was sponsored by Teens for Change.
Lew Freedman | The Tribune
A new sign at Westside Park announces the introduction of a butterfly garden in the park.
Lew Freedman | The Tribune
It is hoped bushes and flowers like these will attract butterflies to the site.
Lew Freedman | The Tribune
Plywood cutouts representing high schools in Jackson County, such as this Seymour High School figure, feature names of Teens for Change members at each place.
Lew Freedman | The Tribune
Lew Freedman | The Tribune
Lew Freedman | The Tribune
When they see a butterfly flap its colorful wings, orange and black maybe, yellow perhaps or other colors, they see soaring, individuality and above all, freedom.
“It has good symbolism,” said Keira Linville, 15, of Seymour. “A symbol of freedom.”
At the grand introduction of a butterfly garden June 23 at Westside Park in Seymour under the auspices of Teens for Change, the butterfly — though none were in attendance at the event thrown in their honor — was on people’s lips and minds.
The butterfly garden was unveiled during National Pollinator Week, a project long in the making by the teen group, which as a motto and theme is “dedicated to the prevention, awareness (and) education of dating violence…to promote safety and equality to all teens in relationships.”
What the members seek is essentially what butterflies do — the ability to spread their wings and fly free, as Kaylynn Linville, 17, Keira older sister, said. Also, as she noted, “We wanted to bring something to the community to show nature’s beauty.”
The two-pronged project, creating a butterfly garden and erecting a bee hotel, as a structure across the grounds is called, with its own setting of fresh plants at its foot, is very much about nature.
Beneath a freshly installed butterfly garden identifying sign is an array of plants that the group and the city’s parks and recreation department hope will draw butterflies to the grounds. None were in view given the 50 or so people milling about, eating hot dogs and frozen yogurt or playing in a bouncy house, but they are expected to be lured in when quiet envelopes the park.
To pique the butterflies’ interest, bushes and plants, such as daylilies, were planted on a patch of land. The opening ceremony was presided over by Seymour Mayor Matt Nicholson, who handed over a pair of gargantuan ribbon-cutting scissors to Holly Cook. The scissors are so big they travel in a tennis racket-like case.
When Cook snipped, the sound made was more of a bang, enough to make some recoil. Cook was awarded a length of purple ribbon as a souvenir, and it was tied into her hair.
“They were pretty heavy,” Cook said of the Louisville Slugger of scissors. “It was a little loud.”
Besides prizes awarded to youngsters and the first official looks at the bee palace and the butterfly land, a row of plywood blank-faced figures stood by. They were made by Seymour’s Malaine Lampkin, who works for Owl Manufacturing making T-shirts and banners. Lampkin has volunteered to water the butterfly garden and weed it on a regular shift.
“I love flowers,” Lampkin said.
Seymour Parks and Recreation Department Director Stacy Findley said the butterfly garden was a long time coming, a dream become a reality. Charlotte Moss, an adult adviser for Teens for Change, said the idea of a butterfly garden was first floated in a meeting to be part of a drug awareness day for the group a couple of years ago.
The original thought was for the organization to release butterflies. Instead, the teens became involved in a project that is intended to attract butterflies. In addition to the garden, a new wrought-iron bench was revealed a few feet away.
In all, with money raised through donations, plus the parks department contributing mulch, Moss guessed the project cost $1,000 to $1,500.
Whether people were concerned about getting stung or they were preoccupied with the prettier plants at the butterfly garden or just eating the goodies (the hot dogs were cooked on a new grill installed at Westside, too), they didn’t linger too close to the bee hotel.
Parks Program Director Chad Keithley said he wasn’t really sure how many were present, “but there are hundreds of bees,” at least.
While the plants near the bee hangout are not currently as colorful as those in the butterfly garden, Findley said that will change over time.
“It takes about two years for a pollinator to reach its prime,” she said. “For now, they’ll look green.”
The butterfly garden plants look red, white, purple and orange already. In some ways, they reflect the color of the butterflies that it is hoped will use them for runways to land on.
Neither Kaylynn nor Keira Linville have seen much of butterflies in the wild, such as when they were walking in the woods, though they have seen some in their backyard. They expect if they want to go butterfly watching in the future, they will just be able to come back to Westside Park.
At the garden opening, the sisters felt as if they had been part of something of note. Kaylynn said she has been a member of Teens for Change since seventh grade and is now going into her senior year of high school.
“This seems like the biggest thing we’ve been involved in,” Kaylynn said.