2 days ago
Dearborn dedicates butterfly garden space on formerly vacant lot
A butterfly garden has been dedicated in what was once a vacant space in Dearborn, Michigan.
The celebration and ribbon cutting of the Southend Butterfly Garden took place Wednesday, formally presenting a pollinator garden, greenspace and a Pockets of Perception team mural.
The space at 10051 Welch Street is near Dearborn's Dix-Vernor corridor. The land was purchased by the city with intention to design a public garden site. It is the first garden of its kind in Dearborn.
"We set out to make a garden bloom in what was once an empty lot near one of our most industrialized and polluted corridors. Repurposing this empty lot for a beautiful, scenic butterfly garden will have tangible environmental and public health benefits for the Southend," Dearborn Mayor Abdullah H. Hammoud said.
The features are meant to encourage the growth and proliferation of plants and flowers that are favorable to butterflies and other pollinating species.
There is a series of raised planter boxes, pathways and boulders.
The highlights include colorful, butterfly-themed mural designed and implemented by Pockets of Perception and the Dearborn Community Fund.
Annabella Barry, a landscape architecture student from Michigan State University, provided her design expertise, working with Dearborn's Department of Public Works and the Parks & Recreation Department. The project is made possible with support from ACCESS and Home Depot, a donation from community member Judy Patrick and volunteers who will work on maintaining the garden.
