Iron Mountain, Mich. (WZMQ) – In Dickinson County, a new butterfly garden was planted by the Lake Antoine Park Partners. The garden has about 35 different species of around 200 native plants that will sustain butterflies and other native pollinators. It was started with a five-hundred-dollar grant from Lyme Great Lakes Timberlands. The Dickinson Conservation District also added to the garden from their wildflower sale. Ann Hruska, the treasurer of the Park Partners, has been faithfully helping the plants get established.
“I’ve been here in the evening watering a lot lately, and it’s just kind of fun to see people walk past and have something to look at. We also hope to start a nature in the park program. The Dickinson Conservation District is going to kick that off this summer. It’ll give another thing, you know, to bring people to and to talk about,” Hruska remarked. “These are all cold-tolerant native plants that would attract butterflies and other pollinators,” she added. There are a couple of early achievers already started, with flowering coreopsis and harebells leading the brigade of butterfly blooms. Hruska informed that much of the garden will be chest-height by next year and the year after, and once the plants are further along they will open the pathway to the public to enter the garden.
The park is calling for local artists to leave their mark on the textured beach house wall inside the butterfly garden. The Lake Antoine Park Partners are looking to commission a butterfly-themed art installation on the southwest-facing wall near the beach area.
“In addition to having all of these native plants here, and beautifying the area we thought this blank wall behind the butterfly garden would be an awesome place to add in an art piece. And like many places do where they have a backdrop to take selfies and stuff like that. We’d like a fifteen foot wide butterfly to put on this wall,” Hruska informed.
The art piece would serve as a dramatic focal point for the new butterfly garden, as well as act as a photo-op backdrop and be a flagship “Art-in-The-Park” for locals and visitors to enjoy in the new garden. The dimensions will be 6ft 6in high by 15 feet wide.
The Park Partners are asking that the proposed art would last at least 10 years outdoors under the covered brick area, and they also ask that artists familiarize themselves with the textured concrete surface of the wall before submitting. Submissions should include a scale drawing in full color, a mounting plan, the project cost including time and materials, an artist bio, and a photo of at least one other example of previous artwork to be considered for the project.
The deadline for submissions is August 31st at 3 p.m. Central. The art would be installed by May 15th 0f 2024. Artists can visit www.lakeantoine.org for information on how to submit proposals for the fifteen-foot-wide mural space.
Proposals can be submitted electronically to lakeantoineparkpartners@gmail.com or dropped off at the Dickinson County Courthouse or Controller’s Office.
