Collier County Parks and Recreation is as passionate about our environment as we are about the community we serve. This Blog is dedicated to our environmental volunteer groups including, Friends of Barefoot Beach, The Clam Pass Trailblazers, The Volunteer Garden Program, The Sugden Trail Team and Conservation Collier.
Thursday, December 22, 2022
Thursday, December 15, 2022
Gardens take care of plants, pollinators and people...
I find time and time again that gardens and gardeners are great (and love) at bringing nature and people together.
My latest example is a partnership between the West Coast & East Coast: Collier County Garden Program & Coconut Creek Community Garden.
I first found out about Coconut Creek from one of our volunteers. When I connected with their program I knew right away we could help each other, and they invited me to give a presentation, about our Gardens, to their gardeners (a rotating group of young people completing school service hours).
Just a few days after Hurricane Ian, the group reached out to see how we and our gardens were doing and asked how they could help.
On Saturday 12/10/22, Lisa & I drove over to the Coconut Creek Community Garden to pick up plants from their garden. We had a chance to meet with the young people in the garden as they worked on weeding, watering, and adding fresh soil.
Lisa & I quickly joined in the search for butterflies & caterpillars.
We gave a short presentation about the effects of the hurricane on our gardens and left them a Snow Squarestem plant and some seeds. Link to Coconut Creek Community Garden
We picked up 15 plants for use at Sugden & Conner Butterfly Gardens. Thank you to Dan Godston (Program Lead) and ALL the youth that have participated in the program. It is inspiring to see your group in action and building something for your community and helping our community too!!
Above & Beyond Service to your community
Wednesday, November 9, 2022
North Collier Regional Park Butterfly Garden
The beauty of people and nature is that we are resilient. In a world that gets rocked the way IAN rolled in, it can be soothing to watch nature return.
When we take care of Nature, we are building a future for everything, people, plants and pollinators, a place for quiet reflection, serenity and beauty.
While I was tending to my own garden after the Hurricane, I was saddened that I lost one of the favorite host plants for Sulphur butterflies, and at the same time over joyed that the Monarchs were back and laying eggs on the milkweed. Now I’m not sure I’ll have enough milkweed but that’s always a good problem to solve.
While the Collier County Gardens are healing themselves with a little help from our gardeners and friends, please know that we are thinking about you and hope you’ll visit soon.
Gardening is what happens when two creative energies meet—human creativity and nature’s creativity. ~~Sue Stuart Smith::A Well Garden Mind
Bring on the Butterflies - Florida Wildflower Foundation Webinar
Bring on the butterflies! - Florida Wildflower Foundation
Tuesday, November 8, 2022
Join a Butterfly Count - North Collier Regional Park
9:30am - 12:30pm
North Collier Regional Park
Meet in the Garden
Nearly 30 species of butterflies have been observed during previous counts. Both number of individuals and different species will be recorded.
Volunteers ages 16 and up are invited to participate. Individuals with previous experience participating in one of these butterfly counts will serve as group leads.
Thursday, September 1, 2022
Sugden Regional Park August 31, 2022
Sugden Regional Park
I just had to share, what for me is, an exciting milestone. At
Sugden Butterfly Garden we planted a Wild Lime Tree over a year ago in the
hopes of attracting Giant Swallowtails. Almost every time any of us are at the
garden we check this tree looking for activity…2 weeks ago we were rewarded
with caterpillars and eggs. Yesterday after much searching I found chrysalis. I
doubt we can time seeing the butterfly emerge - so the butterfly picture is a
stock photo.
And here is a cool video of a butterfly playground…because
of all the rain this low spot has not been mowed and it is now a beautiful spot
to enjoy butterflies. There had to be at least 20+ flyers.
Hurricane season, how can you prepare your garden?? Ah, the summer months have come again: sunshine, ice cream, swimming, and of course, h...