Chelsea Senior Center Awarded Wildflower Grant

More native pollinators will be busy at work this summer dancing amid wildflowers at the Chelsea Senior Center (CSC) entrance. With the support of Chelsea School District, Chelsea Area Garden Club and Chelsea Area Fire Authority, CSC’s Trinh Pifer Intergenerational Garden was awarded a $1,250 grant from the Wildflower Association of Michigan (WAM) to implement a new pollinator garden for the purpose of educating the community about the importance of native flora.

In early 2024, the Trinh Pifer Intergenerational Garden (TPIG) crew, led by Master Gardener Allison Rullman, envisioned an extension of the native garden that resides mostly within the garden’s fence-in-area.

When Daniel Arini, a Master Gardener candidate, reached out to offer free garden design services to the Chelsea Senior Center, Rullman requested a native pollinator garden concept for the barren landscape around the fire hydrant in front of Chelsea Senior Center. To ensure success, Rullman spoke with Chief Arbini of Chelsa Area Fire Authority to gain his support to plant a garden within proximity to a fire hydrant.

Arini’s design, along with letters of support from many, including from Chelsea School District and Chelsea Area Garden Club, were submitted with CSC’s application. Chelsea Senior Center was awarded the maximum WAM grant amount of $1,250. An essential component of the WAM grant is to educate youth and other citizens about the need to preserve native flora to ensure the survival of these species and their support of native pollinators. The money will cover the purchase of more than 400 native plants and educational signs.

“We’re thrilled and honored to receive one of 20 WAM grants awarded throughout the state. Hopefully, the new garden will demonstrate the beauty of native plants and spark an interest in native plants species and pollinators,” says Rullman. “I cannot wait to see the garden teeming with all sorts of bees and other pollinators.”

Maegen Gabriel of Wild Cherry Farm helped establish the first native pollinator garden within the Trinh Pifer Intergenerational Garden. She plays a key role as project consultant for the new WAM-funded pollinator garden and is currently procuring plants from native plant nurseries.

In the spring, Chelsea Senior Center’s Trinh Pifer Intergenerational Garden awakens with cold-hardy crops of the season followed by a warm-weather bounty. The farm stand becomes the watering hole for CSC members as they bag up their favorite garden goodies.

The vibrant outdoor garden space becomes an outdoor classroom for CSC’s intergenerational programs that include Read and Seed in the spring with Chelsea Preschool and Ease the Day activities with Camp Gabika in the summer.

“Extending the outdoor classroom with our newest wildflower garden is an exciting opportunity for more intergenerational programming,” says Jennifer Smith, Executive Director, Chelsea Senior Center. “It will be something else that is amazing here.”

Garden volunteers are needed throughout the season. To establish the wildflower garden, an experienced landscape volunteer is needed to help install pavers in April. More volunteers are needed to prepare the site and install more than 400 plants. Please reach out if you can assist the garden team at (734) 475-9242 or connected@chelseaseniors.org.