Bee City USA - Asheville Partners with Groce Funeral Home to Support the Asheville Butterfly Trail
Photo: Gilf fritillary butterflies on chaffhead by Nancy Lee Adamson
By Phyllis Stiles
Asheville’s Bee City USA chapter has entered an unusual partnership. We have joined forces with the highly respected family-run Asheville business, Groce Funeral Home, to provide a meaningful way to memorialize a loved one. The idea arose when two individuals offered to support the Asheville Butterfly Trail in memory of a parent.
Co-owner Trey Groce did not hesitate to say yes when asked if he would consider such a partnership. It was not unlike the one that Groce and many other funeral homes have had with the Arbor Day Foundation for many years. In that partnership, customers are given the opportunity to have a memorial tree planted in lieu of flowers.
As Trey put it, “We're interested in supporting the Asheville Butterfly Trail because their 10-15 Trail stations will be right here in Buncombe County. If someone sponsors a station in memory of a loved one, they can visit their station in person. The alarming decline of pollinators affects the entire community so we feel good about raising awareness of the issue while also celebrating the beauty of the bees.”
Each Trail station features a pair of local butterfly wings enlarged to human-scale, inviting visitors to be the butterfly and capture the experience in a photo. A nearby interpretive sign offers fascinating details about the butterfly’s life cycle and behaviors. A QR code encourages visitors to learn even more on the Asheville Butterfly Trail website. The person (or persons) being honored is featured on the sign and on the website.
Butterflies represent rebirth and transformation. Many Mexicans even believe their deceased loved ones return as monarch butterflies to visit them on the Day of the Dead (November 1).
Learn about our Asheville Butterfly Trail Tribute Sponsorship program at https://beecityasheville.org/tribute or https://www.grocefuneralhome.com/asheville-butterfly-trail/.
