Bluebird Habitat Project
This was the fifth year for the Blue Bird Habitat project. Ten Club members, organized into two-person teams, monitored weekly from April through August. Extensive data was recorded for each of the 20 nest boxes located on the East golf course of the Bermuda Run Country Club. The compiled data will be shared with both Nest Watch, a national organization run by Cornell University, and the North Carolina Bluebird Society. The total number of bluebirds fledged last year was reduced because house sparrows invaded many nest boxes and destroyed both bluebird eggs and adult birds. This problem has been addressed for the upcoming nesting season. A bluebird program such as this is recognized by Audubon International. Our Garden Club program will aid the Country Club’s efforts to have their courses meet requirements for becoming Audubon certified. The second component of the Bluebird Project encourages Garden Club members to place nest boxes in their own yards. Approximately 15 members participated in last year’s project. They kept the same monitoring records as those used for the golf course nest boxes.
Crosby Scholars Invitational
Bermuda Run Country Club is the host sponsor of the Crosby Scholars Invitational, the main fundraiser for Crosby Scholars. This is a program in the Winston-Salem Forsyth County School District that provides academic and personal workshops, college admission and financial aid sessions for students enrolled in the program. The vision of Crosby Scholars is to ensure that every public school student in Forsyth County has the opportunity to attend college. The Bermuda Run Garden Club provides centerpieces for the breakfast before the golf tournament.
Beautification of the Neighborhood
As a service to the neighborhood, members who live inside the Gate maintain the two large planters at the Bermuda Run post office. Our Club coordinates new plantings four times a year (spring, summer, fall, winter) with Myers Greenhouse. The Town pays for the plantings at the post office. They also have a planter at the Town Hall we donated. Myers plants all of the planters, but the Town takes care of watering the planters at the Town Hall and the Post Office. Our Club’s Plant Doctor is responsible for calling Myers at the appropriate times and also calling the Gate for Myers’ pick-up and delivery of the planters.
Bermuda Run Cares
Bermuda Run Country Club Ladies 9-Hole Golf Association created the non-profit organization Bermuda Run Cares. Throughout the years, over $900,000 in funds have been donated to different charity organizations through the fund raising of this group. This year our Garden Club is proud to join in and provide the charity dinner centerpieces for their Derby Dinner on May 2nd. The proceeds from the event will support Bermuda Run Cares and the establishment of the Bright Beginners Program at the Davie Family YMCA providing local children in need with new clothes, backpacks and school supplies.
Dear Violet Tab on our Bermuda Run Garden Club Website
Our Bermuda Run Garden Club website (launched in May 2016) has added a new interactive tab called “Dear Violet” (taken from our Club’s flower). This tab offers our website visitors an opportunity to ask gardening questions for their specific need. Our “Dear Violet” drop down box also offers tips for annuals, perennials, roses, shrubs, and trees. There is also a section for monthly garden tips and current events within Bermuda Run and Davie County.
Davie County Schools Lunch Buddies Program
This project is a Davie County public schools program that is designed to provide a child with an adult friend. Garden Club volunteers go to Pinebrook Elementary School at least once a month or more to have lunch with their “special” buddy. Because we wanted to share our love of plants and flowers with the children, we added a gardening activity. Volunteers give their buddies gardening books written especially for children, such as the book, “From Seed to Plant.” These books describe the fascinating process of how plants grow. Some of our Garden Club volunteers learn things even they didn’t know! There are two lunches during the year where the volunteers and their lunch buddies gather to enjoy lunch together as a group. At the end of the year, a little planting project is planned so the buddies can plant their own plants to take home and watch them grow over the summer. This is a most rewarding program for both Garden Club volunteers and their lunch buddies.
Davie County Senior Center Bouquets (Meals on Wheels)
Four times a year, the Garden Club members meet to assemble fresh flower bouquets which are placed on the lunch trays of all Meals on Wheel recipients in Davie County.
The Project Chairwomen obtain and prepare the necessary supplies, including seasonal fabric and ribbon, to decorate the bouquets.
A local grocery store helps by generously donating some of the flowers for the project.
Exceptional Children Program of Davie County Public Schools
In November, the Garden Club provides a Thanksgiving Luncheon at the Bermuda Run Country Club for students and staff of the Exceptional Children Program of Davie County Public Schools. Members of the Garden Club provide seasonal table decorations for the event and arrange for musical entertainment for their guests. Garden Club members and staff from Bermuda Run Country Club assist in preparing and serving a traditional Thanksgiving menu for the Luncheon.
Bermuda Run Garden Club Endowment Fund-Community Foundation of Davie County
The Bermuda Run Garden Club Endowment Fund is a Donor-Advised Fund administered by the Davie Community Foundation. Income from the Endowment Fund may be disbursed annually and is supplemented by revenue generated from fund-raising by the Bermuda Run Garden Club.
The Children’s Reading Fund and Pearls of Empowerment are two additional charitable projects in which the Bermuda Run Garden Club participates. The Children’s Reading Fund provides summer reading camps for Davie County elementary students whose reading skills are below grade level. The gift of reading can be life changing for these chilfren. At a cost per child of $100, we hope to be able to increase participation annually. In addition to our budgeted amount of $360, other fund raising projects augment the budged annual total. Pearls of Empowerment is a group of women contributing to programs which benefit women and children in the Davie community. This will be the Garden Club’s ninth year of membership in Pearls. COGNITION of Davie County creates an interactive space for children, families and the community to acquire knowledge through adventurous play, investigative learning and creative growth. COGNITION helps fulfill the South Atlantic Region project: To Improve our Communities through Youth Involvement and Reclaiming Unused Spaces.
Public Library of Davie County
The Garden Club makes an annual donation to the Davie County Public Library for the purchase of books on horticulture and floral design.
Storehouse for Jesus
Garden Club members bring canned goods, other food items, and household items to designated Club meetings that are held at the Bermuda Run Country Club for donation to Storehouse for Jesus. Other services include providing meals for qualified families at Thanksgiving, helping with back-to-school supplies, and blankets & pajamas for needy families. In addition, the Bermuda Run Garden Club joins with the Ladies golf and tennis associations to host an annual luncheon in December by providing centerpieces for each table. All proceeds from this luncheon go to benefit the Storehouse for Jesus.