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Something new at Palmetto Bay Village Hall was created in mid-August by a team of village officials, staff, residents and others — a butterfly garden.
The project was designed by the Parks & Recreation Department and spearheaded by Grounds Maintenance supervisor Federico Retana. Its purpose is to help attract and protect native butterflies. There also was an assist from the University of Florida IFAS Extension Miami-Dade County Florida-Friendly Landscaping (FFL) Program after members met with Andrea Candelaria, the village’s Sustainability & Resiliency planner.
Plants chosen to sustain butterfly larva and attract adult butterflies with their nectar were installed, as well as other important plants. These were in line with resolutions recently passed and enacted by Mayor Karyn Cunningham and the village council. The Palmetto Bay Garden Club donated $4,000 to help make the garden a reality.
Councilmember Steve Cody sponsored the resolution.
“The butterfly garden at Village Hall is along the edge of a green space and the parking lot,” Councilmember Cody said. “It surrounds one area of the sidewalk and on either side you have plants that the different endangered butterfly species like to munch on. The Garden Club put that together and it’s designed with the Coontie host plants Atala butterflies like.
“We have butterflies here all year round. That’s a nice thing about South Florida. We had a butterfly garden at the Village Hall many years ago and it wasn’t maintained and so I sponsored that resolution and the other council members supported it. As we head into the budget season in September, I’m going to make sure that there is money set aside for maintaining the butterfly garden.”
On Aug. 13, Tree Advisory Board members Henry Clifford and Don Pybas, along with Palmetto Bay Garden Club members Ines Mander, Judy Stockman, and Libby Mahaffiy, gathered at Village Hall with Vice Mayor Leanne Tellam, Councilmember Cody, village staff, and village landscape contractor E. Rodriguez Landscape Inc., to assist in the planting of the new butterfly garden.
Vice Mayor Tellam and Councilmember Cody also presented recognitions to the members for their dedication and commitment to enhancing the community and beautifying the village.
Andrea Candelaria, the village’s Sustainability and Resiliency planner, described part of the process.
“The Village was able to team up with the University of Florida IFAS Extension Miami-Dade County Florida-Friendly Landscaping (FFL) Program to come up with a landscaping and water efficiency plan. After the village attended an MDC Building Efficiency 305 Program meeting at Doral, our team met with representatives from the program in which they advocated for a partnership with the University of Florida.
“UFIFAS, an agricultural extension office that is partnered with Miami-Dade County, offered to come and visit Village Hall again and provide us not only with a free audit, but also with recommendations that can be reimbursable. On Thursday, Dec. 14, 2023, UFIFAS came to Village Hall and audited our irrigation system and provided the village with a report.
“Over the past few months, village staff has worked diligently to repair the irrigation system in order to be low maintenance and provide efficient water standards for the village. We are excited that the village will be placing butterfly attractive plants in order to increase our sustainability efforts including adding more Florida native plants and trees.”
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