Butterfly Garden project to be expanded around the country

THE committee behind the creation of the award-winning Butterfly Garden in Swinford say they want one in every county to help families affected by baby and child loss.

The Butterfly Garden, which was the recipient of a special award at the national IPB Pride of Place Awards, was created by mothers who experienced baby loss. It is the first project of its kind in Ireland.

The Butterfly Garden committee members were congratulated on their award at the monthly meeting of the Claremorris/Swinford Municipal District, where councillors promised to continue to support the project.

The committee said that since opening the garden in Brabazon Woods on the Kilkelly Road in August 2022, they have been inundated by people across Ireland looking to develop similar projects.

“The garden has been open for just over a year. It opened in August 2022, and we’ve had so much feedback from local areas and from other counties,” explained committee member Natasha Durkan-Ginty during a presentation on the garden to councillors.

“Word is spreading. We have had other counties approach us already to advise them [on] how to get started. That is what we wanted. We want every county to have something like this, but we are the first in Ireland, so it is brilliant to be able to spearhead it,” she said.

‘A little community’

The chairperson of the Butterfly Garden committee, Stephanie Maloney Diaz, told the meeting that as part of her own grieving process, she started writing a blog in 2020 on the stigma and isolation associated with child loss.

She explained that a number of other mothers reached out to her to share their own experiences, including mothers who suffered a loss as long as 50 years ago.

“The idea came to me of a garden because not everybody has a place to go to,” she said.

The parents met up for the first time on July 16, 2020 and spoke about creating a garden. Stephanie says that on that day ‘a little community was formed’.

With the support of the four councillors in the Swinford Electoral Area they were able to develop a space near the playground in Brabazon Woods, which now features paved butterflies, a seated and picnic area as well as a mosaic wall, inspirational quotes, insect hotels and planting for biodiversity.

“The garden has brought everyone together, which is what we wanted from the beginning,” explained Natasha.

“Everything is bright and it attracts the children who want to go there. They may not realise what it stands for, but the garden has become part of a bigger community we would never have thought possible.”

A place of peace and calm

The committee explained that they are seeking support for developing the garden with public lighting and other features.

The councillors praised the work of the committee and they all pledged to support them in any way they can.

Foxford-based councillor Neil Cruise told the meeting that he had his own personal reasons for supporting the project and described the garden as a special place.

“It was not long open and I visited it early one morning and it is a very special place. It is a place of peace and calm and a spiritual place,” he said, adding it has helped a young couple he knows who are suffering their own loss.

“Things were really raw for them. They visited [the garden] on a number of occasions and it has done them a huge amount of good. You can tell they hadn’t come to terms with their loss but the good it did them was enormous. You can’t put a price on that,” he said.

Cathaoirleach of the municipal district, Cllr Gerry Murray described the garden as unique and he had known it would get a Pride of Place award because of the judges’ reactions to it during their visit.

Cllr John Caulfied commented that projects like the Butterfly Garden are why GMA funding is so important to communities, saying he was only too delighted to support it.

“We can only imagine the difference it makes for people who have lost babies, to be able to sit there and be with their thoughts in such beautiful surroundings,” he said.

CAPTION FOR PIC ABOVE

Members of the Butterfly Garden Swinford with Cathaoirleach of Mayo County Council, Cllr Michael Loftus; Joanne Grehan (Director of Services, Mayo County Council) and Maura Murphy (Administrative Officer, Community and Integrated Development, Mayo County

Council at the Pride of Place Awards.