Habitat for Humanity
National Garden Clubs, Inc. supports Habitat for Humanity and so does The Bartram Garden Club, Inc. On November 12, 2018 we landscaped our first HfH home located in Fernandina Beach. Our civic beautification committee started with a blank slate in the front yard, and outlined two flower beds, pulled weeds, tilled the soil, dug holes, planted and mulched. The proud homeowner, a single mom, was working along beside us! Liberty Landscape Supply, Ace Hardware, Lowe’s, and Island Treasures, all local merchants, donated or provided at a discount Azalea and Muhley grass plants, a Crepe Myrtle tree, and basic gardening tools for the resident. The homeowner spread her recently deceased mother’s ashes in the area where the tree was planted, indicating her intensions to make this a permanent home for herself and her three children. Another home was landscaped in March 2019 followed by a third in May 2019. Homeowners participate in the plantings and are given basic gardening tools and guidance on how to maintain their yards. Consulting services are also available to homeowners who have existing landscaping. Several local merchants have donated mulch, trees, flowers, shrubs and garden tools.
The program was initiated the Civic Beautification Committee and has since warranted its own standing committee status, chaired by Karen Reily.
Plans to landscape additional homes in 2020 has been curtailed by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Click through the slide show on the right to see pictures of this rewarding program.
Read the newspaper article about this project in our Scrapbook Section 11.
