Next stop, the butterfly station

Debbie Jacob

FOR YEARS, I complained about a patch of weeds directly across the road facing my driveway. That eyesore soured me every time I backed out of my driveway or came home. When I played fetch with my dogs, I had to face the weeds growing out of a pile of gravel heaped onto a spot where someone once mixed cement in the road. The weeds grew in the back of a house facing another road, so they became part of a no-man’s land. CEPEP crews don’t come down this street to cut alongside the road.

After 30 years, I took action. Instead of constantly cutting weeds that could never be short enough to look decent, I brought soil, covered the gravel under the weeds and planted flowers to create a butterfly station. My friend Naima designed it and brought someone to plant yellow and orange marigolds alongside pink and blue vervain with purple-blue flowers that would attract bees, birds, hummingbirds, and butterflies. I hoped an army of pollinators would spill over into my yard, and they did.

Converting an ugly gravel knoll that attracted mosquitoes into a beautiful spot that made me smile every time I walked down my driveway felt as easy as flipping on a switch. Now, I wonder why it took me so long to take responsibility for my own happiness. I wasted so much time being angry, sad and frustrated when the problem proved easy to fix. Procrastination never pays off, and there’s always a creative solution for a problem.

But why did I feel fixing that ugly, irritating spot on the street was everyone’s responsibility but mine? Of course, no one would care about those weeds because they didn’t face them all day like me. The bigger lesson is how we deflect responsibility and stand in the way of our own happiness. Blaming everyone else for a problem that affected me was a colossal waste of time and energy.

My butterfly station is my pride and joy – not just because it's beautiful, but because it symbolises me recognising a problem and taking action.

I call this spot a station rather than a garden because it’s a place for pollinators to pause and rest before darting off to someone’s yard. The flowers lift my spirits and give me a feeling of accomplishment. Feeling invested in something beyond my yard turned out to be an empowering experience.

We take refuge in our homes and don’t think about how to create connections to a greater cause, but beyond my gate, I discovered an opportunity to beautify a small spot in my neighbourhood. Small efforts have great meaning.

What if everyone looked for some space to beautify? The opportunities are all around us. How would it feel to tackle nearby garbage, weeds or junk in the road? If everyone took this responsibility the country would look neater and more organised. Our environment matters.

I have seen overgrown, unused parks that need sprucing up. I know someone living next to an abandoned park who planted trees and took responsibility for keeping the space kept. Enlisting neighbours in a project like this can ignite community spirit.

Sometimes I think we are aesthetically numb. We don’t consider how beauty uplifts and empowers us, and how trash and dilapidation deplete our energy and spirit. This all happens naturally and subconsciously, and it matters.

I’m not being sentimental. Studies show that beautiful spaces lift our moods. This is why hiking and spending time outdoors in pristine places among flowers and trees make us happy.

You can find challenges like my butterfly station if you search beyond your yard. Long ago, I worked on a wasp problem at the canine police section in Chaguaramas. Instead of spraying the wasps with insecticides, I did my research and introduced an eco-friendly solution using peppermint oil to keep wasps at bay. Wasps are just as important to the ecosystem as bees. All we needed to do was to drive them back into the surrounding forest.

Citronella, peppermint and lavender plants keep mosquitoes at bay. If everyone had these plants inside and outside of their yards, we could better control mosquitoes in an eco-friendly way. The possibilities for meaningful, uplifting projects are endless.

My butterfly station reminds me that I am in control of my life and happiness. I don't have to settle for anger and frustration. Creating solutions and peace of mind are my responsibilities. That’s empowerment and independence on a whole new level.