Students from two campus organizations developed the garden plan, sowed seeds, and recruited volunteers for a spring planting day. 

Centenary University students are marking Earth Day this year by planting a garden to improve biodiversity and rehabilitate the populations of Monarch butterflies, honeybees, and other pollinators. The project is a collaboration between the University’s Evergreen Club and Delta Xi Nu Multicultural Sorority, Inc., which has adopted the butterfly as its symbol.

            Planned for a spot in front of Taylor Memorial Library on the Hackettstown campus, the garden was first envisioned by Amanda Lorenzo, a Delta Xi Nu sister. The Bayville, NJ, resident had worked on a similar garden initiative in high school and wanted to bring her experience to Centenary. So last summer, she reached out to her friend, Evergreen Club President Jordan Henderson, an animal science major with an environmental science minor and an affinity for the outdoors. “I love the natural world and I want to protect everything that has to do with endangered species,” said Henderson, a resident of Newark, NJ, who has planted vegetables and flowers at home to support pollinators. “When Amanda proposed this garden, it was right up my alley.”

            Together, the two Centenary University sophomores developed a proposal for the pollinator garden to present to the University, ordered seeds including native milkweed, showy goldenrod, and cardinal flower, collected plastic water bottles to use as planters, and arranged for an indoor growing space in Taylor Memorial Library. In addition to the garden area near the library, the students plan to plant the perennials in other spots around campus. “One of my founding sorority sisters had already suggested that Centenary should have a butterfly garden near the library,” explained Lorenzo, a double major in criminal justice and psychology. “There are also a lot of planter boxes around campus that we’re going to use, too. We plan to start small, and then expand. The garden should be fully mature in about two years.”

            Both Lorenzo and Henderson hope to have careers supporting nature. Lorenzo wants to work toward further criminalization of animal cruelty and expand therapy animal programs, while Henderson plans to earn a degree in veterinary medicine from Oklahoma State University College of Veterinary Medicine before traveling to Africa to preserve endangered species like giraffes and elephants, or opening a wildlife rehabilitation center closer to home.

            As they finalize plans for the pollinator garden at Centenary, Henderson said, “I strongly believe that this is a good way to introduce people to conservation. There’s a quote that says, ‘Kids won’t protect something they don’t know or care about.’ I want people to learn about the pollinators we’re protecting, so this monarch butterfly project makes a lasting impact on the future.” Lorenzo agrees: “There are so many positives to this. It’s super important to me to bring people together because after COVID, a lot of people just don’t go outside. Through this garden, I want to bring the community together.” 

CAPTION: Amanda Lorenzo, Bayville, NJ; Jordan Henderson, Newark, NJ; and Mia Mullins, a freshman at Hackettstown High School, Hackettstown NJ who will support this project over the summer watering plants.

ABOUT CENTENARY UNIVERSITY
Centenary University offers extraordinary learning opportunities that empower students to develop intellectually, emotionally, and interculturally—keys to career and personal success. 

Under the leadership of President Dale Caldwell, Ed.D., the University aspires to advance its reputation as a world class institution offering innovative programs, including the world’s first Master of Arts in Happiness Studies, to lift the future for our students and local communities.