Dryden, D. (2008, April 30). Everyone deserves extra credit. Washburn County Register, p. 19.

Everyone deserves extra credit
By Diane Dryden

Shell Lake – It couldn’t have been a worse day weather wise for Mary Ellen Ryall and the Earth Day/Arbor Day planting event at the monarch butterfly habitat in Shell Lake last Saturday.Even though it was a cold and snowy 32 degrees and the wind was whipping off the lake – making it considerably colder and throwing snow in everyone’s face – lots of people showed up, shovels in hand to help plant 55 shrubs in the new habitat.

This beautiful garden, designed by professional designer Sharon Tarras of Tarras Landscape Design and consulting in Stone Lake, called for not only shrubs, but also a bookend of trees at the north and south ends of the half-acre-long habitat. The rest of the area has been designed to be all native plants like the little bluestem, big bluestem and milkweed along with others.

There will also be a large commemorative boulder in both site one an despite three, and a 16 x 16 pergola in the middle of site two.

This isn’t the first garden that Tarras has designed in the area. She’s put her talents to work at the UW-Extension Ag Research Station perennial garden and she’s also done extensive work in the Twin Cities, Hayward, Minong, River Falls, and Rice Lake – all after doing extensive work with Gurten’s Greenhouse in the Twin Cities. She’s completed her University of Minnesota Nursery and Landscape Association certification and the National Association of Professional Landscape Designers certification.

The habitat, which began in 2007, has a four-year-to-finish plan and this is the year of shrub planting and major structure building. Along with the pergola, there will be a split-rail fence that will run the entire length of the habitat that runs concurrent with the walking trail. Grants have not been approved yet to purchase the posts and rails that will be imperative to keep the summer visitors from inadvertently parking on the planted sites.

With Saturday’s weather so cold, it was decided that the assembled crowd of willing workers would simply dig all the holes for the shrubs and mulch around them. The shrubs would be planted as soon as the weather permits.

The 10:30 .am. ceremony started at the site with John (Little Bird) Anderson and Ginger (Mourning Dove) Wilcox from LCO in Hayward leading the crowd in a butterfly song in Ojibwe. There was also a beautiful eagle feather dance and a pipe ceremony.

Later, there was extended entertainment performed by Little Bird at the Lakeview Hotel where a warming and refreshment station had been established. In full garb he regaled the crowd for almost an hour with stories and a detailed explanation of her ceremonial outfit that Mourning Dove had made for him. He explained that in his “harness” alone she had sewn in over 78,000 beads in a rainbow color motif. She was also responsible for the professional-looking painted pictures of various animals like the wolf, crows, fox, birds and rabbits n this garb. She again was the creator of both their outfits in their entirety.

When he added his bustle and headdress, he explained that the bustle contained eagle feathers, along with wisps of horsehair. Everything he wore had spiritual significance, and the Native Americans believe that “They walk in their church, not into it.”

Even though the assembled group of volunteers was not able to complete their task of planting, everyone finished the day with a better understanding of another culture through the respect and honor that was shown to everything and everyone.

After the hard structures go into the habitat this summer, then the 5-foot-wide handicap paths will be laid in gently curving pattern. Resting benches will be placed throughout the gardens and a major fundraiser, Money for Monarch, will take place this June 25, with is a Wednesday night. There will be an old-fashioned pie social, music, habitat tours and a silent auction filled with items of all price points. An information and entertaining butterfly film will be shown at dusk.

Even though the day is over for shrub planting the habitat still needs your help.

There is a call going out for anyone who can supply cedar posts and rails and also a few more 4 – or 5 foot boulders. Donations of money are needed for paving material for paths and for site signage. Benches, in honor of or in memory of will be available for purchase of $500 per bench and an individual and beautiful brass plaque will be attached inscribed with the donor’s words.

If you are interested in purchasing a bench, or helping fill the wish list with items or money, please contact founder and director Mary Ellen Ryall at (715) 468-2097. For more information about Ryall’s organization, log onto www.happytonics.org.

Each Wednesday night during the summer there will be a film and speaker at the lakeside pavilion on the monarchs, and this year the Sell Lake Public Library will also feature Morph Your Mind classes for summertime fun for kids.