Years ago, someone gave Boulder City resident Cheryl Waites a key fob that said “Every day is Earth Day.” It’s a motto she has adopted for her life and now she’s on a mission to share her care for the land with her fellow community residents.
Starting with Saturday’s Earth Day celebration at Teddy Fenton Memorial Park Reflections Center, Waites plans to post signs and reminders daily for Boulder City residents to “reduce, reuse, recycle, conserve and just love Mother Earth.”
Waites planted flowers, herbs and vegetables in the gardens throughout the park and said she plans to restore and enhance the three registered gardens back to their original states.
Within the park there are gardens dedicated to serving as a wildlife habitat through the National Wildlife Federation, Monarch butterfly waystation through Monarch Watch and bird-watching through Cornell University’s ornithological college.
Along with the Wilbur Weed Garden Initiative, she has helped gain stewardship of the parks’ gardens.
Future plans call for the addition of heirloom hollyhocks near the flagpole and a spiral herb garden. She is working with a landscape architect to design plans for these areas.
Chilly Jilly’z is sponsoring a new garden club for children. Waites said she hopes to instill a love of plants and provide a “home base” for them to garden in the park.
She said she also would like to add geocaching to the park, bringing in eco-tourists and raising awareness of the facility.
The gardens serve as the official headquarters for the Great Backyard Bird Count, which is held annual in February.
Hali Bernstein Saylor is editor of the Boulder City Review. She can be reached at hsaylor@bouldercityreview.com or at 702-586-9523. Follow @HalisComment on Twitter.