This is a story that should inspire anyone but if you are a plant enthusiast, this is the story that you will also greatly admire. If you have an interest in gardening, landscapes, or in conservation of our local biodiversity, this is the heartwarming story that will motivate you to get involved. This is the success story of some passionate folks who got together to serve their community -the story of Southwest Georgia Master Gardener Extension Volunteers (SOWEGA MGEVs) who transformed an abandoned garden into a beautiful native plants garden and pollinator habitat.
Chehaw Park & Zoo in Albany is a popular destination for Georgians to spend time in nature. In addition to the zoo that houses dozens of magnificent wild animals, the park offers several attractive amenities for outdoor activities for youths and adults. In the park also lies the Creekside Center – an ideal venue for hosting private and public events. The event center was once surrounded by a nice garden with wandering brick walkways and a handsome wooden bridge. A small group of faithful local volunteers used to maintain the garden with regular upkeep. However, as time passed by, those volunteers aged or moved away. The garden suffered from neglect. Weeds took over the landscape plants in the garden. The garden appeared sad and abandoned at the time.
On February, 2021 SOWEGA MGEVs decided to adopt the garden and take over the monumental challenge of resurrecting the garden back to its original glory. This dedicated group of volunteers was driven by the altruistic vision of community service to rehabilitate the native plants and pollinator habitats. Facilitated by the technical guidance of UGA Dougherty County Extension, they started with removing invasive plants and weeds from the garden. When the weeds were removed, they mulched the garden with pine straws provided by the Chehaw Park management. They further went on to incorporate a piece of fallow land at the main entrance of the Creekside Center with the rest of the garden. By this time, they were able to land a generous grant from the Coastal Plain Chapter of the Georgia Native Plant Society to set up a pollinator friendly native plants garden. Once the invasive weeds were pulled out and mulch was placed, they were ready to plant the native species of plants.
Native plants have an instrumental role in biodiversity conservation in urban and suburban landscapes of Georgia. They are integral to healthy ecosystem. Pollinator insects need native plants for their survival and native plants need insects for pollination. This relationship is carried over in the natural food web. Fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals depend on insects for food. Pollinators are vital for humans as we depend on them for two-third of our crop production. Research suggests that incorporating native plants in urban and suburban landscapes supports the biodiversity in our ecosystems. SOWEGA MGEVs were aware about the importance of having a local garden dedicated to native plants and pollinator habitats. They learned the importance of native plants and the details of setting up a native plant garden during their MGEV training.
“Because of the growing appreciation and understanding of the importance of native plants, we are able to resurrect this beautiful garden as a native plant and pollinator habitat, and since then the garden has blossomed – both figuratively and literally” says Mr. Jimmy Lindsey, a veteran SOWEGA MGEV who has been actively leading the project for last several years. Mr. Lindsey adds “We meet at Chehaw Park in the morning of the third Tuesday of every month and spend about two hours to carry out garden care and management activities. This project has been a wonderful opportunity to socialize and be physically active in nature – the benefits are endless.” Mr. Lindsey and the group maintain the detailed reports from all of their meetings that summarize their recent activities, future plans and a “Bloom Calendar” for the month. Ms. Elaine Gurley, SOWEGA MGEV Vice President, reported the Bloom Calendar for last September. According to Ms. Gurley, they had Lantana, Mimosa, Verbena, Starry Rosinweed, Coneflower, Scarlet Sage, Cardinal Flower and Aquatic Milkweed blooming at the time.
Recognizing the successful management of the native plants and the pollinator habitats, the State Botanical Garden of Georgia awarded the “Connect to Protect” certificate to the Chehaw Native Plants/Pollinators Garden in 2023. “Connect to Protect” program combines beautiful public displays of native plants with educational materials to foster an understanding of the role that native plants play in maintaining biodiversity in urban and suburban landscapes of Georgia. With this certification, the Chehaw Native Plants/Pollinators Garden became a local educational resource on native plants and pollinators of South Georgia. This incredible work of SOWEGA MGEVs was also featured in the Georgia Native Plant Society website in June, 2024.
Any visitor approaching the Creekside Center in Chehaw Park is now greeted by a nicely maintained, colorful and very attractive garden of local native plants, accompanied with bees, butterflies, birds and occasionally a white-tailed deer! In the future, SOWEGA MGEVs are not only committed to the regular maintenance of the garden but are also planning for further expansion. Mr. Lindsey’s report from February 20, 2024 reads “Several volunteers have been eyeing a beautiful old stone wall just to the north of the Education Center. What an opportunity! Currently this low structure is largely hidden by vines, tree limbs and bushes. The plan is to clean up the area and create a thick patch of various bulbs – daffodils, jonquils, spider lilies, paper whites, etc. It would be great if we could get enough variety to have multiple months of color in that area, especially in the cooler months when our natives undergo dormancy.”
Note: If you want to join and/or support this project, or if you want to be a Master Gardener Extension Volunteer, please contact UGA Dougherty County Extension Service – Address: 125 Pine Avenue Suite 100, Albany, GA 31701; Phone: (229) 436-7216; Email: uge4095@uga.edu.
