Butterfly garden takes root in Gillespie Park

What neighborhood leaders once called their most financially ambitious beautification project is taking root in Gillespie Park. 

Gillespie Park Neighborhood Association President Linda Holland and Linda Jacob celebrated the beginnings of the park's upcoming butterfly garden with children from the neighborhood's Reading Room on Oct. 21 in the Gillespie Park pavilion. 

The Reading Room is a neighborhood-run after-school program that takes place in the park throughout the week. It's part of an overall neighborhood initiative to make the park a welcoming place for all Gillespie Park neighbors and give its youngest residents a stake in its success. 

The children participate in all of the park's beautification projects, from clean-up days to more comprehensive projects such as the butterfly garden, which was funded by local government grants. The grants require a monetary match from the neighborhood or in-kind contribution in the form of volunteer hours. Holland and Jacob almost always opt for the volunteer hours, instilling a spirit of activism into their proteges. 

On Saturday morning, evidence of their activism was on display in the park's pavilion. Months of art projects were pinned to pieces of cord while their hand-painted pavers dried on the pavement. 

The garden will include plants that support butterflies throughout their life cycle. It's still in its early stages. Only a handful of bushes have been planted in the recently dug-out flower beds surrounding the park's pavilion. Jacob said the garden will be in full bloom come April. In the meantime, Jacob and Holland will continue to work to beautify in the neighborhood, hoping to create a sense of pride in even its youngest residents. 

"They can see their pavers and their art work," Holland said. "It makes them feel like it's not just a space, it makes them feel like it's their park."