April 29, 2025

Remediation of the Native Habitat at the Marshland Conservancy Meadow

Little Garden Club of Rye & Rye Garden Club

2025 Founder’s Fund Winner

The Little Garden Club of Rye, plans to use the Founders Fund grant to help restore the native habitat in the meadow at Marshlands Conservatory; the oldest known continuously-managed meadow in New York State.

The meadow, an open area of 16 acres, is mowed every Spring to prevent trees from seeding the area and growing back into forest.  Ideally, the meadow should feature native grasses and wildflowers to supply a habitat for small mammals, turtles, birds, butterflies, and other pollinators.  But mowing, as a sole solution, has allowed pernicious non-native plants to take over, limiting the growth of native plants and species diversity. In 2024, goats were brought in to graze the meadow as an alternative versus mowing alone.

The Curator of Marshlands, supported by the Friends of Marshlands Conservancy, Inc., the Westchester County Department of Parks, Recreation and Conservation, and a wide-geographic community, conducted an extensive study of the property to develop a long-term, sustainable program of wildlife and native plant protective practices. A three-year program utilizing habitat-friendly practices to replace mowing has been initiated. Select seeding mixtures, sown after clearing, can "turn the tide" in favor of more native, slower-growing plants.  

 An additional element of this program is the study and documentation of the meadow flora. Marshlands is an education center and part of a network of public parks and lands that share knowledge. Over 200 species have been identified in the meadow, and over fifty species have been vouchered. Herbarium Specimen Cabinets, each holding 26 vouchered reports, will be acquired to build a reference library of species that have been successfully established, or re-established, as a result of removing or restricting invasives

 The result of this project will be two-fold: 1) identifying native species that stand up to invasives; 2) cataloging those species for the benefit of educating the local region.

Photographer: Kristen Pareti

 

The Virginia War Memorial Green Space Project

The Tuckahoe Garden Club of Westhampton & The James River Garden Club

2025 Founder’s Fund Runner Up

The Tuckahoe Garden Club of Westhampton will use the Founder’s Fund grant to help fund the Public Green Space project at the Virginia War Memorial.   Located on five rolling acres on the edge of downtown Richmond, the Memorial welcomes 100,000 visitors annually to pay tribute to 12,000 Virginia veterans who gave their lives for our freedom.

During a 2021 visit to the Memorial, a Tuckahoe Garden Club member noticed a significant need for an improved landscape. The grounds were barren with almost no shrubs or trees to provide shade for the many outdoor commemorative events.  No consideration was given to native plantings to evoke the diversity of Virginia's landscape and what did exist was in poor condition and not well maintained.  Recognizing this great need, the Public Green Space Project was born.

The project planning began in 2021 with a team including the Virginia War Memorial Foundation president, public garden and landscape design professionals, a local nursery, and garden club members.  With a $500,000 budget for plants and installation, the project and fund raising are ongoing until all financial goals are met, which is anticipated by late 2025 or early 2026.

The Public Green Space project will make a difference to all visitors, especially veterans and their families, active service members, and residents of neighborhoods adjacent to the property. As they stroll through the outdoor memorials, visitors will be able to seek respite in the shade during Virginia's hot and humid summers.

The Virginia War Memorial landscape will be maintained by the Department of General Services staff of the Commonwealth of Virginia, in a public/private partnership with the Foundation.  There will also  be volunteer opportunities for Garden Clubs and Scout troops to weed, deadhead and plant annuals. This project will enhance the visitor experience, bringing them closer to nature and offering them a sense of peace and serenity. Virginia’s veterans and their families deserve nothing less.

Photographer: RoseMarie Bundy

 

Forsyth Park Educational Shade Garden

Trustees’ Garden Club & Peachtree Garden Club

2025 Founders Fund Runner Up

The Trustees’ Garden Club (TGC) will use the Founders Fund grant to help fund the Forsyth Park Educational Shade Garden in Savannah, Georgia.  In 1733, Savannah had the foresight to dedicate green space to and for its citizens, and Forsyth Park has become the community’s joy and pride. The project is a celebration of the park, the TGC’s founding centennial, and part of the TGC’s long-standing public/private partnership with the city for stewardship of Savannah’s crown jewel.

The educational shade garden project will transform a historically significant, centrally located, underutilized, and damaged area of Forsyth Park into a horticulturally immersive experience.  The project will expand and protect the existing tree canopy threatened by park users and other activities. It will enhance opportunities for passive recreation and gatherings while educating the public on shade plantings and their benefits. It will showcase the city’s treatment of shade as infrastructure and urban planning necessary for community well-being.

Purposeful use of shade increases outdoor activities, promotes public health by adding protection from the sun, and helps ameliorate heat islands, stormwater, and air and noise pollution. Importantly, the shade garden will preserve a space that benefits all, especially nearby residents who are among the most vulnerable to heat and stormwater and whose access to green space is limited.

Creation of the shade garden is a tangible result of TGC’s Forsyth Park Project and collaboration with the Cultural Landscape Foundation which began in 2016.  By 2020, a Master Plan was underway and a conservancy established;  Friends of Forsyth Park, a non-profit community-wide conservancy board on which TGC holds two seats.  

Preliminary work on site design and plant selection is underway and groundbreaking can begin once funds are available. TGC will fund the project from its community fundraiser, and members will contribute work days for plant installation. The city has generously offered in-kind contributions including landscaping design, engineering, lighting, irrigation, soil preparation, and amendments.

Photographer: Terry Pindar