The Bacardi Bottling Corporation donated $3,000 to help make a bird sanctuary for the Bioswale Garden at the University of North Florida on Oct. 23.
The donation came along with Bacardi employees helping on Oct. 18 in planting numerous native plants in the bioswale garden. The donation helped provide funds for the amount of materials and plants needed to create the bioswale garden.
On Friday, they made additional contributions as 12 Bacardi employees and two children of an employee came to the garden to help begin planting new flowers, trees and shrubs for the bird sanctuary. The following day, a group of UNF Botanical Garden volunteers and University of North Florida alumni came out to help plant the rest of the garden and add mulch. The bioswale garden now has over 300 plants, including shrubs and trees.
The 28 botanical gardens on UNF campus have been maintained for the last four years by Rhonda Gracie, the horticulturist at UNF, with the help of volunteers. Gracie dedicates her free time every Saturday with regular Botanical Garden volunteers to help preserve the gardens and work on projects such as building the bioswale.
In 2022, the bioswale garden was nothing but dirt. In April of this year, the bioswale project began through a Plant-A-Thon event hosted by the Botanical Gardens. Botanical Garden volunteers and different students from UNF sororities were coordinated by Jean Lipenski with the Ozzie Ambassadors to participate in working on the initial project of beginning the Bioswale garden. Now, two years later, the Botanical garden has almost an acre of environmental landscaping.
The bioswale garden contains various plants including beautyberries, flowers, native plants, and more. One objective of this garden is to prevent flooding during storms in an eco-friendly way. Bioswales hold water after it rains, allowing the plants to filter it by absorbing pollutants before drainage.
Kay Senn, Bacardi Bottling Corporation Associate Sensory Beverage Scientist, helped plant on-site in the gardens on Friday with the Bacardi Green Team.
“The biggest part for us is helping with stormwater management,” Senn said. “We are focused on ensuring that we’re putting the right plants in the right place to help with stormwater management.”
Another objective of the garden is to create a bird sanctuary. The garden focuses on providing the proper plants for birds to eat and nest all year round.
“Each of these plants in the Bioswale has an intentional function, whether it be seed, food, or shelter for the birds and pollinators,” Gracie said.
Kelly Tesiero is with The Elegant Garden and helped the Bacardi Green and UNF Botanical Garden volunteers plant flowers and shrubs on Friday. Tesiero also helped Gracie initially in designing the layout of the Bioswale garden prior to planting.
“This garden will attract insects and pollinators,” Tesiero said. “We’re hoping to attract birds to nest here since 96 percent of all birds eat insects when they’re babies.”
Gracie said they intend to add walkways, hammocks and benches so students can interact more and linger within the bioswale gardens.
“This will allow students to take a break from their studies and the stress of the day and just interact with nature and the birds,” Tesiero said.
The bioswale garden is adjacent to Lot 7 and east of the Science and Engineering Building, Building 50. If students are interested in participating in future volunteer projects or contributing to the gardens on Saturdays, contact Rhonda Gracie at unfbotanicalgarden@unf.edu for more information.
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