Opening people’s minds to the need to protect the beautiful and important biodiversity of the nature under our noses.
Bound by Beauty formed The Rebel Botanists Gang on 9/18/20 due to a revelation: we could use a rather dry document entitled “Some Lawn Weeds of South Florida and The Butterflies that Use Them”, created in 2014 by Steve Woodmansee of Pro Native Consulting, to open people’s eyes to the importance of these plants through fun and educational activities. Once eyes are opened, their minds will follow with the need to protect this biodiversity. We were inspired by the amateur botanists in this video who did something very similar in England.
However, we had a special trick up our sleeve that the women in the video lacked: a “hook” in the form of butterflies. We figured if people understood that these “lawn weeds” in fact served a valuable role in the ecosystem of feeding butterfly caterpillars and, in some cases, pollinators, they would be less likely to grab the herbicide the next time they encountered a weed in their lawn.
Working with a dedicated group of friends, neighbors, and supporters, we have developed programs and activities that open people's eyes to the beauty and importance of the nature under our noses. These programs include Wild Plant Scavenger Hunts and Cool Bug Safaris; Sidewalk Chalk Drawings; Weeds to Wildflowers: Native Plants that Host Butterflies; a Field Guide to Wild Plants That Host Butterflies; and last but certainly not least, Butterfly Circles.
We devised a series of fun and educational activities to open people’s eyes to the importance of these plants in the ecosystem and the need to maintain biodiversity, even in a lawn.
We are collaborating with artist Kim Heise to create a Field Guide to these plants. Her role is to create portraits of the native wild plants that host butterflies, some of which are endangered. The non-native plants and the invasive species will be photographed rather than painted.
This Field Guide, when completed, will:
In short, these Guides will inspire people to get outside to learn about our ecosystem and the beautiful and important biodiversity that surrounds us – and upon which we depend -- if we only take the time to look. And, at the end of the day, who is going to want to apply deadly poison to plants that enable butterflies to survive?
The first part of the Field Guide has been completed and can be downloaded here. Kim is currently working on the second part of the native wild plants section, and we will make it available for free as soon as it is available.
We created our first Butterfly Circle, which was dedicated on Earth Day with the help of our mayor, village manager, and a councilperson, which you can read about here.
We also held an exhibit of her beautiful portraits at our local Brockway Memorial Library, where we could open people’s eyes to their importance in the ecosystem, and partnered with Chad Moreschi of Natural Resources Pest Control, who spoke to those gathered about the harm that toxic chemicals do to our environment, and what products can be safely used in our gardens.
Doesn’t this make you want to discover the nature under your nose?
Who knows what special plants you will find and what fun you will have in finding them?
We couldn't do what we do without the generous support of organizations like the Miami Shores Community Alliance and members of our community.
