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Sunrise Park Garden

Evansville, Downtown (on Waterworks Road south of the Museum)

Coordinated by Rita Wedig

Sunrise Park Garden

July 2023 UPDATE: The New Sunrise Park Garden is Now Open! Sunrise Park Garden is now open! The garden sits in front of the new Pump Station where the clean water “falls” into the Ohio River. Another great feature of the pump station is that it collects rainwater on the roof and drains it into the Sunrise Garden. Our SWIMGA volunteers are are getting the garden in shape by pulling a lot of grass to expose the wonderful pollinators and milkweeds. Our education plans for this year include classes for about 300 EVSC students in the next 3 weeks. One of the beds is a nice space for the children to plant Sunflowers, Zinnias, Marigolds and other plants.

November, 2020 UPDATE:  The team from Sunrise has started meeting with Brian Holtz as the garden is on track to open next Spring. There are five beds in the design and we want three beds to have Monarch Waystation Certification, Indiana Native Plant Certification, and Wildlife Habitat Certification. The Sunrise MG volunteers are anxiously awaiting the opening of the park. This year MG volunteers had to remove plants from Sunset West to make room for the waterfall. Many plants were taken home by volunteers, but just as many were left at the Glenwood Leadership Academy for Glenwood home owners. In addition, we (MG volunteers) helped Patchwork Central with their education program and Pollinator garden, and maintained the rose bed on Veterans Parkway beside the demolished tennis court. Next year will be very exciting!

Due to the planned construction of the new water treatment facility in what was Sunrise Park, volunteers had a busy fall in 2018 transferring plants from the Sunrise Park Garden to a new area dubbed Sunset West, a bit north on the riverfront. Some of the plants also went to other SWIMGA gardens and the plant sale, as well as personal gardens.

SWIMGA had cared for two of the gardens in Sunrise Park — a 120 foot long bed of perennials and annuals that attracted butterflies, honey bees, and birdsr, and a round bed that featured a magnificent white crepe myrtle.  Each summer the SWIMGA volunteers provided educational programs for the Vanderburgh County School System and Evansville Christian School.  They will be using Sunset West as their teaching and transitional beds until the Sunrise Park Garden is rebuilt once the water treatment project is completed — by 2021.

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