Elmhurst Garden Club, an Elmhurst Chamber of Commerce & Industry members since 1998, received four awards by National Garden Clubs, Inc., at the 89th Annual NGC National Convention held in Philadelphia from May 20-24, including two firsts, one third and one recognition.
Elmhurst Garden Club received first place for Community Gardens. This award reflects a year-and-a-half commitment to the Monarch Initiative as part of the Mayors’ Monarch Pledge of the National Wildlife Federation. As part of the Mayors’ Monarch Pledge, Elmhurst Garden Club hosted the Children’s Monarch Fest in July 2017 in conjunction with the Garden Club’s Garden Faire.
Elmhurst Garden Club received first place for Community Beautification. This award acknowledges member involvement (Norma Farrell, Chair; Jan Foster and Lisa Peterson) as gardening consultants to York Community High School. These individuals provided grant writing, garden design and horticultural education for York Garden Club, and spearheaded the transformation of three neglected areas at York Community High School into three vibrant gardening spaces (August 2015). These spaces are visually attractive and well-utilized by students.
The third, first place award, Butterfly Sustentation, documents the transformation of the Exterior Courtyard of York Community High School into a Monarch Waystation and demonstration garden. In addition to being a certified Monarch Waystation, this area has designations from Conservation at Home, Xerces Society and the National Wildlife Federation. Elmhurst Garden Club members remain committed to consulting with the York Garden Club.
The final award was recognition for Elmhurst Garden Club’s window display (April 2017) of the Monarch Initiative in Elmhurst Public Library.
These awards acknowledge Elmhurst Garden Club strong commitment to the community, and its willingness to collaborate with other community organizations and businesses.
National Garden Clubs, Inc. (NGC) comprises 50 state garden clubs, 5,000 member garden clubs, 165,000 members and 60 national affiliated organizations within the United States. There are also 330 international affiliated organizations ranging around the globe including: Canada, Mexico, South America, Bermuda, South Africa, Australia and Japan.