Butterfly garden almost complete

By Staff
Melissa Dozier-Cason, FCT staff writer
The butterfly garden at Russellville High School is almost complete. The project has been under construction since last spring.
The butterfly garden evolved from a simple beautification project into a project involving a large portion of the student body, Suzette Posey said.
"The kids heard about the [beautification] project, and I started applying for grants in order to get it underway," Posey said.
RHS received a $2,500 grant from Legacy in 2005 to start the project. Natural Resource Conservation and Development, Rogers Group, N.A. Sand and Gravel, Cultura Garden Club, and teaching staff made donations to make the butterfly garden a reality, Posey said.
"We also sold t-shirts as a fundraiser for the project," Posey said.
The students planned the garden and are now the caretakers for garden. NRC&D planted the garden, and the art student painted the benches that were donated by Mr. Paul Foster, the high school counselor.
The fountain and the bird baths were purchased with money donated in honor of Joan Gotchner, Posy's mother, who passed away last year.
The garden, named Jardin de la mariposa, or "garden of the butterfly" in Spanish, will also include a goldfish pond that the students dug by hand, Posey said.
Although the garden has been under construction this semester, it has already attracted some visitors.
"Several Monarch butterflies and hummingbirds have visited the garden already this year," Posey said.
The Monarch butterflies migrate from South American in the fall, and back down again in the spring, Posey said.