Girl Scouts create haven for pollinators in Fort Worth park

Girl Scouts Maddie Barber and Eliana Hernandez wanted to create a garden that would not only serve as a resource for pollinators but as a way to educate the community. Pollinators like bees and monarch butterflies are important to the ecosystem, and the garden serves as a place to share information and inspire others to build habitats in their own backyards.

The pollinator garden is Barber and Hernandez’s Girl Scout Silver Award project with the goal to create something that benefits the community in the long term. As a part of their project, they reached out to the city’s Adopt-a-Park program for support and approval. Together the girls determined the location, size, components and timeline of the garden project.

The pollinator garden is on the Trinity Trials in Pecan Valley Park, 6400 Pecan Valley Drive.

With the help of their families and donations from friends and the community, the girls were able to successfully build the pollinator habitat.

“Once approved, a tarp was placed on the area of the garden for several months to kill the grass. After that we removed the tarp and lightly tilled the soil. We held a garage sale to raise monies needed for native seeds and plants. Lastly, we registered the garden as a monarch waystation and intend to participate in the Monarch Watch program,” the girls said.

The garden is filled with native plants that attract a variety of pollinators, and butterfly identification guides and signs provide information to passersby. During the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been an influx of traffic on the trails. Thousands of visitors have enjoyed the educational signs and taking photos of the girls’ hard work.

Learn more about the Mayor’s Monarch Pledge.

If you or your organization are interested in adopting a spot, park or median, contact Keep Fort Worth Beautiful for more information.

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