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Butterfly garden unveiled
Americorps adds new feature to Quilter CCC Camp

By Leslie Bixler

September 26, 2007

GREEN SPRINGS -- A tree was planted and a dozen monarch butterflies fluttered into the air after being released at the site of a newly constructed butterfly garden Tuesday at the WSOS Quilter Civilian Conservation Corps Camp.

The garden was created by members of Rural Response Americorps.

"The Americorps put in a lot of hours and sweat getting the project completed, said Lisa Heyman, family advocate who oversees the Americorps program.

The butterfly garden is a winding landscaped path near a pond situated toward the back of the camp.

Throughout the garden there are benches, plants and flowers that line the gravel path.

Mayor Ted Rutherford said he really likes the camp.

"They've done a lot of work for our village. We enjoy having the camp out here," Rutherford said.

The butterfly garden was unveiled Tuesday in celebration of National Public Lands Day, which is Saturday, and the 75th anniversary of the CCC camp.

Sally Prouty, executive director with The Corps Network from Washington, D.C., said it was former State Sen. Barney Quilter who kept the corps alive.

"I cannot tell you how impressed we are with the quality of the program," Prouty said. "We owe it to Barney Quilter and his memory."

Amy Hirt, of Fremont, has been in the Americorps for nearly two years. She is an office worker for the WSOS housing and energy department.

"It was fun, difficult and stressful all at the same time," Hirt said of helping create the garden.

The garden was constructed within three months.

The garden will serve as an educational tool for after-school programs, Hirt said.

Heyman encourages area schools to bring youths to the garden to learn about the nature of butterflies.

Heyman says that when the youths involved at the camp are not responding to a disaster or participating in community service, they work through WSOS programs to learn life skills, educational enrichment, and employment and training skills.

According to WSOS, President Theodore Roosevelt created the Civilian Conservation Corps in 1933, and the Green Springs site was established in 1942.

In 1947, the CCC program was disbanded but resurfaced again in 1957 as the Student Conservation Association when colleges placed students as volunteers in national parks and forests.

It operated until 2003 when the state no longer funded the camp. However, WSOS was able to keep the camp open with the help of state legislators such as Sen. Larry Mumper, R-Marion, and Rep. Jeff Wagner, R-Sycamore, along with the support of Rep. Chris Redfern, D-Catawba, and funding from with The Corps Network and the governor's discretionary fund.

E-mail Leslie Bixler at lbixler@gannett.com