USF St. Pete Native Memorial Garden — St. Petersburg, FL

• CLIENT St. Petersburg, FL | USF St. Pete
• YEAR 2020-2024
• WE DID Clean-up, Enhancement
• DESCRIPTIONThe USF St. Petersburg Memorial Garden—also known as the Butterfly Garden—is a native planting located near the Student Center at the corner of 2nd St N and 6th Ave S. Set beneath a large live oak, the garden highlights shade-loving native understory plants.
  
  When we were introduced to the space in December 2020, it was overgrown, neglected, and largely forgotten. With the help of our mentor, Bruce Turley—a longtime native plants advocate and sustainability leader in Pinellas County—the garden was re-envisioned and restored. Wise Hands joined the effort with a multi-day clean-up to bring the space back into good condition.
  
  From 2020 to 2024, Wise Hands maintained and continued to enhance the garden, adding native plantings and botanical labeling to support its role as an educational space. Additional features, including bat and owl boxes and interpretive signage, were installed through collaboration with USF St. Pete sustainability and student leadership groups, helping transform the garden into a welcoming place for visitors and learning.