CORAL GABLES– Children spoke excitedly, showing off their newly designed butterfly drawings at the Coral Gables Parks Pollinator Palooza, an annual event that emphasizes the importance of protecting the environment.
“I like rainbow butterflies,” said 3-year-old Camille Zacarias, flapping her arms to demonstrate what she had learned at the Sept. 23 event at the War Memorial Youth Center, 405 University Drive.
Camille was among 40 children and their parents who participated in hands-on activities, which included planting a butterfly garden.
Gianeli Zacarias has brought her two children to the pollinator palooza for the past two years to interact with nature in a fun, yet educational way.
“We love these events,” Zacarias said. “It’s beautiful for them to see the process from the beginning to the end, then drive by six months later and see how it’s growing and how it brings the butterflies.”
The event featured guest speaker Dalton Goolsby, supervisor of the Urban Horticulture Program at the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences Extension Miami-Dade County.
Goolsby’s presentation, “Patterns in Nature Talk,” included a drawing activity.
“It is challenging but fun to try to explain pollination in a way that a kid can wrap their mind around,” said Goolsby who focused on patterns and colors to keep the children interested.
Organizers
The Parks Pollinator Palooza is organized by the co-executive directors of the “Keep Coral Gables Beautiful” program, an affiliate of the national “Keep America Beautiful” project. The focus is on recycling, beautification, sustainability and environmental outreach.
In the past three years, the Coral Gables program has hosted more than 100 events with a total of 16,000 participants. The group also has collected around 400,000 pounds of litter and debris as part of its beautification initiative.
Matt Anderson, co-executive director of Keep Coral Gables Beautiful, said he grew up in South Florida, swimming the waters of Biscayne Bay and exploring the Everglades as a child. He was inspired to preserve the environment for future generations to enjoy.
“For us as a city, we are about to celebrate our 100-year anniversary,” Anderson said.
“I’m thinking about the next 100 years and what that is going to look like and what future generations are going to enjoy in our city.”
Park palooza butterfly gardens have been planted at the War Memorial Youth Center and the Coral Gables Country Club and a replanting this year at the youth center. The city is building a park on Toledo and Alava and will inaugurate its opening with a pollinator garden planted by the community next year for the fourth annual event.
