SPRINGFIELD, Vt. – The Springfield Garden Club has earned four awards and two honorable mentions this summer from the Federated Garden Clubs of Vermont. The first FGCV award was for “our ongoing work of Civic Beautification and the beautiful planters and gardens throughout the town,” reported Anne Miller, awards co-chair.
A FGCV Honorable Mention is a community business award. “Each club is eligible to recommend one business in its area which has made an effort to use plants to improve the appearance of its premises,” stated awards co-chair Karen Vatne. “In addition to their impeccable and colorful gardens on Main Street, the bank provides a room for us to have our monthly board meetings and also provides volunteers for our cleanup and civic beautification days.”
Claremont Savings Bank is located on Main Street across from Town Hall and is visible to everyone traveling around and through town. Every year there is an eye-catching, colorful garden display in the spring, summer, and fall with a mix of annuals and perennials and with their use of evergreens, there is winter interest as well. The bank participates in the Festival of Trees each year as a sponsor and also enters a tree into the tree-decorating contest. The Garden Club greatly appreciates the support that the Claremont Savings Bank provides to the community. The whole town enjoys their uplifting and immaculately maintained gardens.
The second FGCV award went to longtime club member Margaret Nickerson who won the 2020 Golden Trowel Award. Margaret has been a member of the Springfield Garden Club since she retired in 1994. Over the last 25 years, she has supported the club in its various activities.
For many years, she has been the steward of the Route 10 and 106 triangular intersection in Springfield, heading up the spring cleanup, also weeding and watering throughout the summer. She has also shepherded students from Riverside Middle School for years, as they fulfilled their civic-duty responsibilities by weeding and helping to plant this area. Margaret is a very friendly and engaging person who has certainly served her community above and beyond and is still going strong at 86.
The third FGCV award was recognition of the quality and clarity of the club’s 2019 annual yearbook publication, which was produced by club co-presidents Carolyn Lane and Cheryl Pierce.
The forth FGCV award was for Conservation of Natural Resources. The Springfield Garden Club continues to focus on programs that foster the use of native plants that support wildlife and birds native to our state. In this program, Gwen Causer, Audubon educator, focused on birds and the plants, trees, and shrubs that provide for their wellbeing.
Through slides and workshop style discussion, attendees learned which native plants provide shelter, nesting materials, and food for our feathered friends. Bird-friendly landscaping saves water, fights climate change, and conserves both our birds and native plants.
The club also cleaned up with a FGCV honorable mention for the Environmental Education program provided by Henry Homeyer, in conjunction with Springfield area Osher Lifelong Learning Institute, “Growing Plants to Support the Birds and the Bees.”