After more than a year of planning, Project EverGreen’s GreenCare for Communities location in Ft. Myers, Fla., opened its “Backyard Nature: Living GREEN” exhibit at the Imaginarium Science Center August 18.
“Project EverGreen is proud to partner with the Imaginarium and a wonderful group of sponsors and volunteers who helped make the idea of this green space a reality,” said Project EverGreen executive director Cindy Code. “The ‘Backyard Nature: Living GREEN’ exhibit will help families learn how easy it is to sustain an environmentally compatible backyard using Florida-friendly landscaping.”
The backyard exhibit is strategically laid out to show how a properly landscaped exterior can have multiple positive impacts on the greater environment. It showcases the best plants for Florida climates and soils, too.
Volunteers planted the exhibit in a two-day span, under the guidance of an advisory committee who researched and selected the right plants for the right space.
Project EverGreen worked with local partners from the plant, sod, fertilizer, pest management and grower industries to bring the project that places a focus on green innovation to fruition. The partners included: Florida Pest Management Association, Estate Landscaping & Lawn Management, Florida Nursery Growers Landscape Association, Florida Sod Growers Cooperative, Green by Design, Florida Fertilizer & Agrichemical Association, Bethel Farms, King Landscaping, Elata Natives, Juniper Landscaping, Coastal Irrigation & Plumbing, Mainscapes Irrigation, Florida Irrigation Society, Triple J. Grassing and Estate Landscaping & Lawn Management.
Although the exhibit is officially open to the public, it is only 85 percent complete. Opportunities still exist for more plant donations, sign sponsorships describing the exhibit and benches for seating in shaded areas. For more information on those opportunities, please contact Shelby Baucom, assistant director at the Imaginarium at SBaucom@cityftmyers.com.
The grand opening event included a mayoral proclamation by Ft. Myers Mayor Randy Henderson. Mayor Henderson proclaimed Aug. 18 as “ProjectEverGreen/Imaginarium Day.”
Pictures of the grand opening and exhibit can be found at www.projectevergreen.com/ftmyers.