Marquette Students, Kannon Still and Isaac Brinker built a sturdy new trellis for the butterfly garden as their senior service project. Thank you!

The Butterfly Garden was established by Judy Pooler and a large group of volunteers in 
1984. Over the years, the garden became overgrown and in 2020 Friends of Bellevue State Park took on the task to restore the garden to a beautiful safe haven for butterflies and other wildlife. To learn more please visit https://www.iowadnr.gov/things-to-do/watchable-wildlife/butterfly-garden-at-bellevue

In 2021 Travis Kemp with TW Excavating pulled out the old rubber liner, cleaned out the buildup, and put in a base of blue clay. The blue clay will keep weeds out and hold up when wildlife use the pond as their water source.  This upgrade was completed with a 2020 grant from the Community Foundation of Jackson County. Thank you Community Foundation of Jackson County for helping us turn the pond back into the perfect home for wildlife to thrive and children to learn from and explore! Thank you to the Bellevue Fire Department for filling it back up!

A deck box has been stocked with nets, bins, and magnifying containers for children to use while exploring the pond.  This was made possible with a 2020 grant from the Community Foundation of Jackson County as well as a generous private donation.

The Carpentry Class at Bellevue High School used their time and talent to build a new garden shed to hold supplies for the Butterfly Garden.  The old shed was in rough shape and in dire need of replacement.  Thank you Bellevue High School for all of your hard work to provide a wonderful shelter for our equipment and Sue Sawvel with the Bellevue Rotary for the beautiful art addition to the shed!

Sue Sawvel with the Bellevue Arts Council painted a beautiful new sign for visitors to the Butterfly Garden. 

A mini grant from JCATA provides us with the funds to install educational signage at the Butterfly Garden, the overlook, campground, Felderman Park bridge, and Felderman Park trail. The signs will provide interpretive information to visitors utilizing the park. Thank you Jackson County Tourism for making this project possible!