New butterfly exhibit flutters into Durban Botanical Garden
The butterfly habitat garden is a response to the concern that children growing up in urban areas are often disconnected from the natural world.
THERE’S a new attraction in Durban that, if he were alive today, may well have inspired 19th centrury American novelist, Nathaniel Hawthorne, when he wrote:
“Happiness is a butterfly, which when pursued, is always just beyond your grasp, but which, if you will sit down quietly, may alight upon you. The beautiful new indigenous butterfly habitat garden at Durban Botanic Gardens is a living, colourful spot of pure happiness, where, if you do sit quietly for a minute or two, you’re bound to have a butterfly alight upon you.”Â
The new garden, which was seven years in the making, opened officially to the public on 4 April in the umPhafa Garden which was created as part of the conversion of what was the Living Beehive built at the Durban Botanic Gardens to showcase local biodiversity, innovative engineering and local indigenous knowledge during COP17 in 2011.
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The largely experimental garden exhibit was converted into a butterfly garden while still retaining a local biodiversity and people-plants-culture focus.
Dr Bonkewitzz began work on the butterfly habitat garden in July 2015, together with Janet Gates, senior horticulturist at the Gardens and her collections team.
The initial idea was to build an enclosed butterfly dome, but after careful consideration the plan was changed to create an open habitat garden for local butterflies laid out in different garden types according to specific butterfly groups.
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The dome structure served as a support for butterfly attracting climbers and creepers which, in turn, will provide a comfortable shaded structure for interpreting the value of butterflies to visitors.
Curator of the Gardens, Martin Clement, said the indigenous butterfly habitat garden, which is effectively a number of combined garden spaces with specific indigenous plants, extends the concept of wildlife gardening to a new level, allowing specific butterflies to be more readily located, observed and interpreted in their natural state.
“The indigenous plant species choice and siting in the landscape has been designed to match specific groups of butterflies that will be attracted to specific host and nectar plants and thus support the educational and interpretation activities of the garden. The idea is to create a suitable garden environment that will attract and sustain the butterflies,” he said.
If anyone is interested in making a donation or volunteering, call Kerry on 031 309 9244 or email: marketing@dbgt.org.za.
