Determined to find a way to enhance their community, second-graders in Girl Scout Troop #50361 have donated a butterfly garden to the Carl and Dorothy Bennett Community Garden at Greenwich Hospital.
The nine-year-olds were on hand last week to plant the butterfly garden under the supervision of John Huber, the Greenwich Hospital landscape architect. The troop donated $1,400 for the garden – money raised from selling more than 1,500 boxes of Girl Scouts cookies.
“It’s inspiring to see youngsters so committed to improving their community at such a young age,” said Norman Roth, president and chief executive officer of Greenwich Hospital. “We greatly appreciate their efforts to make our community garden even more beautiful.”
Charlotte Armstrong had no qualms about digging the garden. “I love getting dirty,” said the Greenwich Academy student who was born at Greenwich Hospital. She said the troop decided to make the donation “because it would make the garden more beautiful and the insects would like it.”
Located by the path leading up the terrace overlooking the community garden, the butterfly garden is expected to attract about a dozen different species. With its lush vegetation and many benches, the community garden is a favorite spot for hospital patients, visitors, staff and the public.
Besides beautifying the area, the butterfly garden will increase the area’s bio-diversity, explained Huber. All the plants serve as food for the butterflies. But some plants also serve as hosts for butterflies to lay their eggs, with the emerging caterpillars foraging the plant until maturity. Some butterflies are plant-specific when it comes to laying eggs. For example, Monarch butterflies only lay eggs on milkweed.
“It was a great time, in spite of the rain!” said Lilly Armstrong, the troop’s cookie manager. “The girls ran around in the lower garden for well over an hour afterward and all agreed that it was magical.”
