ESCANABA, Mich. (WZMQ) – A statewide initiative promoting the importance of caregiving is making its way across the U.P.
According to IMPART Alliance, there are currently 36,000 unfilled direct care positions in Michigan. That’s why the organization has partnered with Age Alive at the Michigan State University College of Osteopathic Medicine to create A Caregiver’s Butterfly Garden.
“IMPART Alliance has a mission of honoring and recruiting caregivers, said A Caregiver’s Butterfly Garden Project Manager Rochelle Berry. “This is really an advocacy through art project.”
The creative display first came to the Upper Peninsula in February, when an installation opened at the Ishpeming Senior Center. This week, similar installations of handmade flowers and butterflies are popping up in other communities, starting with the Escanaba Public Library on Tuesday.
“It was a very intriguing project for us,” said Library Director Carolyn Stacey. “Libraries, as we know, are places of creativity and connection where people can come together around opportunities, ideas, information. It was really a natural fit with what we like to get involved with, and hopefully, it will resonate very deeply with our community.”
Similar satellite gardens will appear at the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community on Wednesday and at the Trillium House on Thursday. According to artist in residence Zahrah Resh, who handcrafts the installations, each one is unique.
“No two gardens are alike,” she said. “It’s the community, wherever it’s at, it’s their garden. They get to use it however they want it, their own programming, and hopefully it brings people together. That’s my goal.”
A Caregiver’s Butterfly Garden invites the public to learn about caregiving through shared experiences, storytelling, and art. Community members are encouraged to craft paper butterflies, which will each carry a personal message. Those butterflies will become part of a larger garden, connecting their community with others throughout Michigan.
“It’s a chance for people of all ages to come in and interact with the theme, express themselves, and create something,” Stacey said.
“It’s really about mental wellness and allowing people to think about what caregiving means to them,” said Berry. “Whether we are being cared for or are caring for others, it’s going to hit us at some point in our life. It’s not a political situation; this is a human need. We’re really hoping that it opens people’s eyes to empathy and how we can step up and care for one another.”
Participants can view their butterflies in the Virtual Garden at www.DCWgardens.com. The project is made possible through funding provided to IMPART Alliance by
the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services. For additional information, click here.
