County of garden: Douglas County
Location of garden: Campbellton St. & E. Strickland St., Worthan Park, Douglasville
"The Douglas County Butterfly Trail is expanding with the opening of a new butterfly garden located at J. Tom Worthan Park in downtown Douglasville.
"Volunteers worked Saturday to get the garden established, moving dirt and planting butterfly magnets like salvias, black-eyed susans and coneflowers on the western edge of the park. Others helped build an arbor that will serve as an entrance to the Butterfly Garden.
"On the eastern side of the park, volunteers painted the gazebo and picked up litter as part of an overall freshening up of the whole park.
"The Worthan Park garden is the eighth on the county's butterfly trail, said Douglas County Master Gardener Marjorie Stansel, who helped design the Worthan Park garden along with Keep Douglasville Beautiful Executive Director Chan Weeks.
"Douglasville Mayor Rochelle Robinson signed the National Wildlife Federation’s Mayor’s Monarch Pledge, which is aimed at restoring the habitat for the butterflies. The monarch butterfly population has decreased by 90 percent over the last 20 years, according to the group.
'“This is our first action item for that pledge,” said Weeks. “It is going to be a demonstration garden.”
"KDB partnered with Comcast on the garden. Comcast provided funds and supplied more than 30 volunteers Saturday to help stage the plants, lay the path, move soil and do other tasks, Stansel said.
"Weeks added that Comcast donated about $1,200 to purchase plant materials and that the total cost of the garden was expected to be about $2,500.
"The Master Gardeners have been part of the planning, maintenance and implementation of most of the butterfly gardens currently on the county's Butterfly Trail, according to Kevin Livingston, UGA Douglas County Extension Agent. Livingston noted that 50 Douglas County Master Gardeners (DCMG) vounteered 6,550 hours last year on the Butterfly Gardens and many other gardening projects in the county, putting the DCMG at eighth in Georgia in that category out of state's 159 counties.
"The garden at Worthan Park is estimated to cover more than 1,000-square-feet, according to Weeks.
"Weeks said that in building the garden, the groups involved "are not bringing in butterflies but we are planting plants that will attract butterflies."
"The garden is expected to open within the next week.
"Stansel, who helped supervise the volunteers Saturday, said a ninth garden for the butterfly trail will be designed and built by the Master Gardeners at the Old Courthouse next. A 10th Butterfly Garden for the trail is planned for the Military Honor Garden being established at Hunter Park, Stansel said.
"The Douglas County Butterfly Trail was inaugurated June 4, 2016, during the Penny McHenry Hydrangea Festival.
"Wes Tallon, director of Douglas County Communications and Community Relations, came up with the idea of creating a trail after his friend Dr. Steve Rich wrote a book entitled “Mrs. Carter’s Butterfly Garden,” which described former first lady Rosalynn Carter’s Butterfly Trail in Plains, Georgia.
'“It’s a textbook for elementary school science kids,” said Tallon. “Mrs. Carter worked with [Steve] on it. I thought, ‘Why can’t we have a little garden trail?’”
"The Butterfly Trail, complete with eight current gardens, including the one at Worthan Park, started off with six public gardens and has since grown.
'“I was thinking of it in terms of a tourism type thing," said Tallon. "We decided that these would be public gardens or gardens in public spaces. We have become a migration stop. I am thrilled that the city and KDB wanted to join in the effort."
"Each garden on the Douglas County Butterfly Trail is registered with Carter’s Butterfly Trail as are any private butterfly gardens throughout the county.
'“One of the things that Mrs. Carter did … is she formed an international registry for butterfly gardens so you can register your garden with hers,” explained Tallon. “All of our gardens are being registered with the Rosalynn Carter Butterfly Trail so that there is a constant and ongoing registry of where these are."
"Tallon explained that the monarch butterfly is an indicator species, which means it can reflect how well or bad an environment is doing.
'“A healthy butterfly means a healthy environment,” said Tallon. “You can tell how this is affecting human life by butterfly life and the monarch butterfly in particular is very susceptible to the changes in the environment and if it dies out, that means we are in trouble.”
"One unique detail about the Butterfly Trail this year is that the eight gardens will have signs identifying all the plants. The labels will list the common name, the Latin name and whether or not the plant is a host plant or a nectar plant.
'“As you go through a butterfly garden … now you will know what it is," Tallon said. "The purpose is to educate and to encourage people if they wish to do their own butterfly garden. Hopefully this will encourage people to plant their own bushes. All the plants will be identified.”
"The garden will consists of both host plants and nectar plants to help the butterflies re-populate.
'“When you make sure that there are host plants and nectar plants, then the butterflies will find you,” said Tallon. “More butterflies are liable to come if you have more places for them to lay their eggs, host, be fed and move on their way. If there is a mass of them on our trail, then the butterflies will come out and all of a sudden, you are doing a good thing for the environment, you are doing a good thing for the plant species and you are basically creating eco-tourism.”
"Tallon’s idea of eco-tourism is a win-win situation for both the environment and Douglas County.
'"It is touting the natural things that we have here,” explained Tallon. “People will come out here, enjoy, maybe while they are here eat … or fill up their car with gas and contribute to the local economy. It is the good kind of tourism. Let’s promote what we have. What we have is natural beauty. We have got a lot of history. All this did was … pull them all together into a trail that we could advertise for eco-tourism and enhance.”
"With its rich history and downtown location, Worthan Park, which sits along Strickland Street between Highway 92 and Malone Street, seems an obvious place for a butterfly garden.
"Named after former Douglasville Mayor J. Tom Worthan, the park was dedicated to Worthan in September 1985 after two years of work, said local historian Lisa Cooper.
"According to Cooper, then Mayor Charlie Camp said at the park’s dedication: "This park was a dream of Tom’s several years ago. When Tom passed away, I knew if I stayed in city government long enough we would get this park built.”
"Worthan was a public servant for Douglasville, serving 21 years in office, including 16 years as a member of the Douglasville City Council and three years as mayor.
'“Unfortunately, Worthan found it necessary to resign from the office of mayor effective Dec. 31, 1978, due to health reasons,” said Cooper. “Two weeks later, word came that former Mayor Worthan had lost his battle with cancer. He was only 61 years old.”
'"Overall, the new garden looks to be an exceptional addition to an already popular eco-friendly site, Tallon said.
'"It continues to expand that ecological footprint," said Tallon. "We have to continue to take care of our environment. I am thrilled that we can take this initiative. It is one of those things that as we pulled it together, it continued to flourish and people got excited about it. It adds another garden in our crown of gardens."' ~ Douglas County Sentinel, By Kate Croxton, April 23, 2017