'Butterflies and Bees' are focus of Savannah-Ogeechee Canal Museum's summer program
Savannah-Ogeechee Canal Museum and Nature Center is dedicated to preserving the unique history of the historic barge canal opened in 1831 to connect the two rivers to facilitate the flow of goods into the port of Savannah, but their scope goes beyond history to include the native surroundings and people who ventured inland from the coast in the 1800s to settle Georgia's western lands.
In addition to guided tours, general hiking opportunities and canal history, the Nature Center is offering two summer programs focusing on butterflies and bees - "Butterfly Gardening" and "Bee Keeping" taught by local volunteers.
Chica Arndt was instrumental in placing a butterfly garden on the Fort Argyle Road property and shares what she's learned in a 45 minute program that covers both a lecture and free exploration.
"Butterfly gardens are not exclusive to the South," explains Arndt. "You can find them across the United States, from a few containers to several sunny acres, but what makes ours unique is that we try to feature, and encourage, the use of native plants."
Arndt says nectar-producing plants will attract butterflies almost anywhere, but in order to support a full butterfly cycle, gardeners must also include host plants for laying eggs and use as a caterpillar food source. Adult butterflies have a very short lifespan - eggs laid in early spring take 3-4 weeks for a caterpillar to pupate and 9-14 days to emerge as an adult butterfly - so Arndt also suggest planting a variety of nectar sources to encourage more variety of butterflies to visit the garden.
"I begin my class talking about native butterflies because when you can identify what species are in your area, you can match the plants to make your garden a popular hangout," she explained.
The class is dismissed to explore the Canal gardens, armed with literature to explore and identify both butterflies and their preferred fauna. To aid in the identification of garden plants, the Nature Center has recently installed metal identification markers through a grant from the Georgia Department of Natural Resources. The interpretive signs not only identify the plants, but also display a photo of the butterfly they attract. Arndt says many people are familiar with the Lantana plant, but its not native to this area. But a Purple Cone Flower or Swamp Milkweed does grow in the wild, adding yet another reason to explore the outdoors this summer.
Ann and Howard's Plants were on hand to offer a variety of butterfly plants for visitors to take home for their own gardens. According to Howard Turner, all of their plants are grown locally and unless identified, are native to the area. A percentage of the Turner's sales are donated to the Nature Center.
After touring the gardens, visitors are invited to the Museum's pavilion for a class in Bee Keeping 101 taught by Linda Harms of Harms Bee Keeping. Using vivid photos, Harms introduces students to the honey bee and the particulars of beekeeping.
Harms became involved in her husband William's hobby last year and spends a good deal of time educating the public and marketing their honey products.
"Today's world is full of refined sugar and sweetening products, but back in history everyone was excited to see a beekeeper coming," said Harms. "Honey was a natural source of food sweetener - often cultivated in old, hollow tree stumps placed in fields away from the main residence. It was even used as a source of money or barter for the other goods a settler might need."
What's there to know about bee keeping? Isn't making honey just a bee's way of taking nectar from spring and summer flowers to store as food for the winter?
Harms begins her talk introducing the bee and then uses a calendar chart to show bee keeping is a year-round investment. "Like everyone else, I thought the bees did the work in the spring and you gathered honey, but in the winter there is work to be down in the shop - making frames and preparing boxes. In late summer we might feed the bees powdered sugar, set traps to catch beetles, manage the size of the hives and of course, gather honey - did you know it may take 500 bees to produce one battle of honey?"
Harms says honey also has a long history of medical use to treat burns, bee stings and desensitize allergy suffers. Because a bee makes honey from the flowers he finds near his nest, users ingest pollen from local sources. Harms says their 15 hives are located adjacent to the nearby river and therefore their honey is richly infiltrated with nectar from the Ogeechee Tupelo tree, a variety of sour lime found only in wet soils bordering streams and swamps from extreme South Carolina to northern Florida. Both the common and Latin species name refers to the Ogeechee River in southeast Georgia where the trees were discovered and, like the butterfly-attracting plants, illustrate how local nature has a big influence on our coastal lives.