Girl Scouts Plant Wildlife Garden In Cloverdale Farm County Park

BARNEGAT, NJ — Cloverdale Farm County Park is buzzing with life thanks to the work of two local girl scouts.

Waretown scouts, Lily Boyd and Jordyn Glasser, recently unveiled a pollinator garden they planted in Cloverdale Farm County Park as part of their Silver Award Project. The garden attracts butterflies, moths, bees, hummingbirds and other animals who transfer pollen from flower to flower.

The garden also features pollinator towers that help native plants, such as the purple coneflower, grow and thrive.

“We did have plants, but we had issues with the groundhogs because it wasn’t a fenced in garden,” said Patti Trasferini, a naturalist with Ocean County Parks and Recreation. “Knowing that we were anticipating the girl scouts doing this, we were able to compose a fence around the garden. The girls helped put netting inside that fence and did their planting so that way, hopefully, it will be secure for years to come.”

Lily and Jordyn showcased their work and presented new signs for the garden at an open house in the park.

So far, the garden has seen six Monarch chrysalis form on the fence, creating a new generation of monarchs, which have been in a population decline.

Pollinator gardens supply food to wildlife in the form of pollen and nectar that ensure continued fruit and vegetable growth. More than 150 food crops in the U.S. depend on pollinators, including almost all fruit and grain crops.

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