St. David’s Butterfly Garden

Once a month St. David’s hosts a Family Friday program for our young families. It is a time of fellowship and fun.  Our goal during the 2018-2019 school year was to connect young children with other members of our church community in meaningful ways. In order to do so, we invited a different person or group each month to share their hobby or interest with our young families to show the children all the wonderful talents that are hidden within our church.

We learned about highland dance, families who participate in re-enactments of historical events, our church choir, woodworking, and more! Our final event of the year was with our church Garden group in which we built and planted a Butterfly/Pollinator Garden. We are very fortunate at St. David’s to have a passionate group of volunteers who keep our gardens looking beautiful, and they were more than excited to share their love of plants with us. The Garden group helped us to select an area for the garden and purchased plants which would attract and sustain the butterflies.

During COVID one of our families decided to raise caterpillars as a family project. They received 10 painted lady caterpillars though the mail and were able to watch them form into chrysalises and then emerge as butterflies. We then did a special Children’s Focus video where we released the butterflies into the garden we built years earlier. It was the perfect example of change after so many changes due to COVID. God has created butterflies who start off as creatures with many tiny feet, which are only able to walk and they go through an amazing metamorphosis which gives them the ability to fly. We took time to remember that Jesus wants us keep working and changing on our insides, too—on our thoughts and actions. Butterflies show us that nothing is impossible with God and we are so fortunate to have a space at St. David’s dedicated to helping these beauties survive.

Climate Justice Niagara, an initiative of the Diocese of Niagara, has initiated a Garden Certificate program for churches in the Diocese. Certificates are being presented to churches that have created gardens which strive to safeguard the integrity of creation and enhance sustainability. Certificates are awarded in four categories: pollinator gardens, food gardens, rain gardens, and children’s gardens. If your church is interested in arranging for the presentation of a certificate, please contact Irene Pang, Chair of Climate Justice Niagara, at [email protected].