Garden for Wildlife Learning Center

Connecticut Native Plant Garden with Catherine Violet Hubbard Sanctuary

Written by Kelly LaVaute | Jan 19, 2024 9:20:42 PM

In Newtown, Connecticut, something beautiful and heartwarming is taking root and blossoming in the form of Kindness Gardens.

This exceptional environmental initiative, a collaborative effort between the Catherine Violet Hubbard Animal Sanctuary (CVH) and various civic organizations like Rotary Clubs and Girl Scouts, is changing the landscape while nurturing kindness and promoting biodiversity. To date, they have already sowed the seeds of kindness over 10,500 square feet of pollinator habitat in Connecticut and New York native plants, providing habitat for pollinators and wildlife of all kinds.

Now, we are proud to be forging a new and exciting partnership with the Kindness Gardens initiative. This collaboration will extend the reach of Kindness Gardens to communities across the United States, enabling more people to contribute positively to wildlife conservation via our 1:1 native plant donation program.

Shubber Ali, CEO of Garden for Wildlife by National Wildlife Federation, expressed his enthusiasm for the partnership, "On behalf of Garden for Wildlife, I'm thrilled for our partnership with the CVH Foundation. We share a common mission to create pollinator and bird-friendly habitats to help save our endangered wildlife, so the opportunity to leverage our plant donation program to accelerate the planting of Kindness Gardens across the country is a way to make a bigger impact much more quickly."

A Blooming Affiliation

The official announcement and celebration of this new affiliation took place in June at Catherine's Butterfly Party, a fitting occasion to highlight the significance of preserving the environment for both the present and future generations. As part of their commitment to this partnership, Garden for Wildlife pledged to match every plant purchase with the establishment of a Kindness Garden. This resulted in a generous donation of 225 Connecticut native plants for pollinators destined for a Kindness Garden in Dickinson Memorial Park in Newtown.

The planting event at Dickinson Memorial Park took place Wednesday, September 27, from 10:00 am to 2:00 pm. Volunteers and representatives from the Catherine Violet Hubbard Animal Sanctuary, along with members of Garden for Wildlife, came together to and made light work of the new native plants.

A Personal Connection

Jenny Hubbard, President of the CVH Animal Sanctuary, is especially excited about sharing the beauty of these gardens with the Newtown community. She noted, "I am grateful that Garden for Wildlife would launch our affiliation at Dickinson Park in Newtown. This beautiful space serves as the backdrop for so many quaint memories - times Catherine would meet friends, play with her brother, or where she and I would spend summer afternoons. It seems most appropriate that this beautiful park will now also provide a safe haven for the endangered monarch butterflies and pollinators."

Get Involved in Your Community

If you'd like to learn more about the Catherine Violet Hubbard Animal Sanctuary or the Kindness Gardens initiative, we encourage you to visit cvhfoundation.org. You can discover the profound impact that these gardens are making and how you can get involved in nurturing kindness and biodiversity in your community.

Together, we can create a brighter, more beautiful future for humans and wildlife alike.