Boy Scout troop creates butterfly garden at N.C. Children's Hospital
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - Spirit ... Transformation ... Hope. The butterfly is a symbol of all these. For children and adults with cancer and other serious illnesses, the butterfly represents what is possible.
Sept. 26, 2005
Boy Scout troop creates butterfly garden at N.C. Children's Hospital
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - Spirit ... Transformation ... Hope.
The butterfly is a symbol of all these. For children and adults with cancer and other serious illnesses, the butterfly represents what is possible.
Three and a half years ago his mom, Pam Baker, who works in the UNC Hospitals' Oncology Patient and Family Resource Center, had breast cancer, so he knows how scary the hospital is for families as well as patients. He decided to create a butterfly garden at UNC Hospitals for his Eagle Scout project.
Chapel Hill's Troop 39 of the Boy Scouts of America embraced the idea, and agreed to adopt and maintain the garden. Derek raised money, researched what was needed, enlisted the help of master gardeners, brought in new plants, and transformed the courtyard between N.C. Children's Hospital and N.C. Memorial Hospital into a butterfly oasis. Butterfly larvae have been "planted" in the garden. These butterflies will eventually hatch and fly away, but some of their offspring will return, and the carefully selected plants will attract other butterflies.
Patients were also involved in the project. Children in the N.C. Pediatric Hematology/Oncology Expressive Arts Summer Camp painted beautiful butterflies. In addition, UNC art student Susannah Miller made and decorated origami butterflies with children in a N.C. Children's Hospital waiting room.
According to a Native American legend, if you capture a butterfly, whisper your wish to it, and give the butterfly its freedom, the wish will be taken to the heavens and granted.
The Butterfly Garden at UNC Hospitals will grow and thrive with the help of the community. For a small donation, individuals can "adopt" a butterfly to remember, to honor, or to celebrate someone they care for. To adopt a butterfly, contact Pam Baker at (919-843-0680, PRBaker@unch.unc.edu), or Sandi Jarr at (919) 966-1500 or SJarr@unch.unc.edu.
A dedication ceremony will be held Sept. 29 at noon for the dedication of the Troop 39 Butterfly Garden at UNC Hospitals. Speakers will include UNC Hospitals' Vice President Sharon Coulter James, Dr. Uli Hartmond, director of the Magic Wings Butterfly House at the Museum of Life and Science in Durham, and Derek Baker and members of Troop 39. One hundred butterflies will be released during the ceremony, to honor cancer patients and survivors.
Derek said his wish for visitors to the garden is "that seeing the butterflies in the garden will brighten their day and bring a smile to their face and joy to their heart."
The Butterfly Garden at UNC Hospitals is an Eagle Project of Troop 39 in collaboration with the Planetree program at UNC Hospitals. Support for the project was provided by all-a-flutter in Greensboro, N.C., Amazing Butterflies of Tamarac, Fla., Apex Nursery of Apex, N.C., Carolina Biological Supply Co. of Burlington, N.C., Chapel Hill/Carrboro Tae Kwon Do, Master Gardeners Association of North Carolina, the UNC Hospitals' Oncology Patient & Family Resource Center the UNC Hospitals' Volunteer Association and patients, families and friends.
The Planetree program at UNC Hospitals which aims to create more humanistic healing environments for patients, families, caregivers, and the community at UNC Hospitals. For more information about Planetree at UNC Hospitals, contact Susan Siegel at (919) 966-6527 or sysiegel@med.unc.edu.
Media contact: Stephanie Crayton, (919) 966-2860 or scrayton@unch.unc.edu
ABOUT UNC HEALTH CARE:
The UNC Health Care System is a not-for-profit integrated health care system owned by the state of North Carolina and based in Chapel Hill. It exists to further the teaching mission of the University of North Carolina and to provide state-of-the-art patient care. UNC Health Care is comprised of UNC Hospitals, ranked consistently among the best medical centers in the country; the UNC School of Medicine, a nationally eminent research institution; community practices; home health and hospice services in seven central North Carolina counties; and Rex Healthcare and its provider network in Wake County.
