By Ashley M. Casey
Associate Editor
Recent visitors to Plank Road Park in Brewerton may have noticed the Colorful Wings Butterfly Garden just in time for National Pollinator Week, which took place June 22-28. The butterfly garden is the brainchild of Lexi Snell, a member of Girl Scout Troop 10402 in Cicero.
Snell is working toward her Gold Award, the most prestigious award a Girl Scout can earn. Only 5.4% of eligible Girl Scouts achieve this honor. Senior or Ambassador Girl Scouts must log 80 hours of work on a community service project that reaches beyond their troop.
“I saw that there was a decline in monarch butterflies and any other butterflies, so I thought by doing this pollinator garden it would attract butterflies,” Snell told the Star-Review.
Increasing residential development, changing weather patterns, and destructive deforestation and pesticide use have caused the population of monarch butterflies in Mexico and the eastern United States to plummet, reaching a record low in 2012.
Snell contacted Jody Rogers, director of the Cicero Parks and Recreation Department, with her idea. Rogers helped Snell identify a location for the butterfly garden.
“I went to the park and I saw that there was a trail there. I decided I would put my garden right in front of the trail where you go in or come out,” Snell said.
Snell held a bottle drive to raise money for plants and mulch. The Onondaga County Resource Recovery Agency (OCRRA) donated compost to her project.
The North American Butterfly Association offers tips for planting a successful butterfly garden.
“You will need to choose plants that fall into two groups: nectar plants that will provide adult butterflies with energy and caterpillar food plants that will feed caterpillars. With careful selection from these two groups, your garden will provide for the entire life cycle of butterflies,” reads the NABA website, nababutterfly.com.
With the help of her troop and her family, Snell planted purple coneflower, milkweed, bee balm, liatris and cut-leaf coneflower.
The coronavirus pandemic posed challenges to Snell as she worked on her project. Troop meetings have been canceled and her award ceremony has been postponed. Despite the obstacles, Snell is looking forward to celebrating her award and helping her fellow Girl Scouts work toward their own Gold Awards.
“It will take time, but in the end it’s all worth it,” she said.
Snell, who just wrapped up her junior year of high school, has been a Girl Scout since kindergarten.
“I’ve learned a bunch of skills: outdoor skills, business skills, camping skills and how to run meetings,” she said. “I liked that we would get together and plan trips to go on even if they were tiny day trips.”
Snell encourages other girls to join Girl Scouts.
“They should join because it gives opportunities to meet new people and go on adventures. It gives you the opportunity to be financially savvy with the cookie sales and money,” she said. “It’s just fun to be in.”
