Category Archives: In Your Words

In Your Words: Butterfly Garden Team

Posted on March 7, 2017 by Ryan D.

In Your Words is a regular feature of Mass Audubon’s Explore member newsletter. Each issue, a Mass Audubon member, volunteer, staff member, or supporter shares his or her story—why Mass Audubon and protecting the nature of Massachusetts matters to them.

The Butterfly Garden at Stony Brook Wildlife Sanctuary

The Butterfly Garden at Stony Brook Wildlife Sanctuary

The Butterfly Garden Team began in 2012 with the mission of creating outdoor spaces that welcome and nourish butterflies and other pollinators. When Jessica Watson, Stony Brook’s Volunteer Coordinator, presented us with the opportunity to restore the butterfly garden at the Stony Brook Wildlife Sanctuary, it gave us a chance to do something we love right in our hometown. For us, Stony Brook has been a peaceful refuge from the stresses of work, a place to meet friends, and a way to get up close and personal with the local wildlife.

The Stony Brook garden was planted in the 1990s, but was in need of attention. Invasive vines and grasses and aggressive perennials had taken over most of the nectar and host plants.
With a lot of elbow grease and help from Stony Brook staff and volunteers, we renovated the garden section by section. We added two new types of milkweed for monarchs, as well as a variety of other nectar and host plants, mostly donated or started from seed. The walkway was cleared, widened, paved in crushed stone, and made universally accessible.

Butterfly Garden Team of the Norfolk Garden Club at Stony Brook Wildlife Sanctuary

Butterfly Garden Team of the Garden Club of Norfolk at Stony Brook Wildlife Sanctuary

In 2016, we received a grant from the Massachusetts Master Gardener Association and used the funds to replace a hedge of invasive honeysuckle with native and pollinator-friendly perennials and shrubs. The garden is now a Certified Butterfly Garden and Monarch Waystation.

We love this little “sanctuary within a sanctuary,” and the butterflies and other pollinators seem to enjoy it, too. A variety of butterflies, moths, bees, and birds join us as we weed, water, dig, plant, and mulch. We’ve even seen monarchs return!

Monarch Butterfly spotted at the Stony Brook Butterfly Garden

Monarch Butterfly spotted at the Stony Brook Butterfly Garden

Best of all, the garden is now serving its original purpose: providing information about gardening, butterfly habitat conservation, and natural history, and serving as a quiet haven where people can relax and observe the flowers and their visitors.

When we started this journey, we never imagined all we would gain in return. Working in the garden has brought us friendships, wonderful partnerships with Stony Brook staff and volunteers, and a sense of purpose and pride that comes from hard work and a beautiful garden.

Written by Members of the Butterfly Garden Team of the Garden Club of Norfolk: Martha Richardson, Stephanie Markham, Emily Nicodemus, and Michelle Noonan

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In Your Words: Norman Smith

Posted on December 20, 2016 by Hillary T.

In Your Words is a regular feature of Mass Audubon’s Explore member newsletter. Each issue, a Mass Audubon member, volunteer, staff member, or supporter shares his or her story—why Mass Audubon and protecting the nature of Massachusetts matters to them.

Norman Smith releasing a snowy owl photo © John Cole

Norman Smith releasing a snowy owl. Photo © John Cole

It’s been 50 years since I first started working at Blue Hills Trailside Museum—51 if you count volunteering. When I was a kid, my parents always let me pick a special outing on my birthday. And every year, I picked visiting Trailside. When I turned 13, I sent in a letter asking if there was anything I could do to help out. The staff accepted.

Every weekend and after school, I would ride my bike 10 miles each way to Trailside to empty trash barrels, pick up litter, clean cages, feed the animals—all routine stuff, but I loved it. Eventually, I got a part-time job taking care of the animals, collecting tickets, and assisting with any other task that needed attention. In 1970, after graduating high school, I started full time as an assistant naturalist. Back then, Garret VanWart was the sanctuary director—and a mentor. He took us out on field trips to Marina Bay in Quincy, and through a scope he set up, I saw my first snowy owl. I was hooked.

Everyone who knows me knows that I am not a tech person (I still use a flip phone). But I was the first person to put satellite transmitters on wintering snowy owls back in 2000 to understand their migration patterns. Our research was the first to prove that snowy owls returned to the arctic each spring. During this time, I used to take my son and daughter out with me to capture and release snowy owls. The transmitters have changed and so have my assistants—now I bring my granddaughters.

Over the last half century, there hasn’t been one day that I have thought of leaving the museum. This is more than just a job. This is my life’s work. I want to inspire as many people as I can to care about these precious resources that we have: to encourage and kindle excitement in every child that walks through the door; to get kids and adults to put down their phones and experience the wonders of nature up close; and to help embolden the next generation of stewards to carry on the legacy to help people better understand, appreciate, and care for the world around us so future generations have the same opportunities and more.

See a slideshow of photos from Norman’s 50 years with Blue Hills Trailside Museum and share your favorite Norman stories in the comments below!