When you're in the museum business, even micro-grants can make a huge difference. That's why you'll find administrators and fans of South Haven's Bailey Museum singing the praises of the Southwestern Michigan Association of Realtors this week following word of a new Placemaking Micro-Grant from the National Association of Realtors by way of the local Realtors group.
Targeted as a way to help make South Haven a better place to live and work by transforming public spaces into vibrant community places, the $1,500 grant is intended to help Realtor Associations partner with others to plan, organize, implement and maintain placemaking activities in their communities.
The Bailey Museum, located at 903 Bailey Avenue, will use the grant to complete a signage project that will highlight the living collections of plants that are the legacy of Dr. Liberty Hyde Bailey, the father of American horticulture. The signs will be designed by the volunteer museum staff and will allow visitors to wander the gardens and interpret the plant collections on a self-guided tour.
Anne Long is Chair of the museum's Board of Directors, and she explained, “Without the presence of a gardener in residence, many of our guests are unable to have questions about the garden answered. With signs that give the Latin and English names and descriptions, guests will be able to wander the gardens anytime and learn the historical value and accomplishments of Dr. Bailey. The gardens are open year-round and are accessible to foot traffic and wheelchair access. Admission is free to visit the gardens.”
The Bailey Museum is a non-profit organization dedicated to educating people about Liberty Hyde Bailey through the preservation of his birth-site home, interpreting his philosophies of land ethics and the appreciation of the natural world in our everyday life. The project is expected to start at the end of April and be completed in June.
Over the last four years, Dr. David Fenske, Master Gardener in Residence, has worked diligently to create gardens that illustrate Bailey’s work. The gardens were developed using heirloom vegetables and perennials that were common in Bailey’s era. To ad curb appeal, unique pieces of art were added. The Hodgman family of South Haven donated a new irrigation system and sodded the lawn area. The addition of signs will be the last step in the overall project.
Meryl Green, of Coldwell Banker Weber Seiler in South Haven was the Realtor-sponsor for the Bailey Museum grant. Green explained the reason for her endorsement, “The Bailey Museum is a destination point of landscape and gardens that reflect South Haven’s native son, Liberty Hyde Bailey, and his philosophies that reflect practical horticulture. I take great pride in watching the museum grow and expand into a hub for our community.”
As SWM Realtor's Association President Paul Dumke says, “Realtors live, work and volunteer in their communities and take immense pride in working to improve them.” He adds, “Placemaking can help foster healthier, more social and economically viable communities. It creates places where people feel a strong stake in their neighborhoods and are committed to making things better. This grant will allow us to address areas in our communities that are in need of improvement or redevelopment and create a place where friends and neighbors can come together.”
Placemaking grants are awarded to local and state Realtor associations to help them and their members initiate placemaking projects in the community, like turning a parking lot into a farmer’s market or a vacant lot into a playground. Realtor associations and their members are actively engaged in the community and know the neighborhoods and the properties that would benefit most from these improvement efforts.
Dumke says, “As the South Haven area becomes more attractive and welcoming, nearby properties may also increase in value.”
To learn more about National Association of Realtors placemaking grants visit, realtoractioncenter.org/Placemaking.
