From center right to left, Garden Steward Diana Oddenino, Garden Steward Peggy Bowers and Shepherdstown Public Library Director Hali Taylor accept a $1,000 check from Erie Insurance District Sales Manager Suzanne Bitonti, which was matched by Insurance Outfitters co-owner Michele Maiden, far right, at the library’s new location on Wednesday. Tabitha Johnston

SHEPHERDSTOWN — Last Wednesday morning, a group gathered in front of the Shepherdstown Public Library’s new building, at 145 Higbee Lane, for the presentation of a $1,000 check from Erie Insurance’s grant program to the library’s new garden initiative.

While the library’s former location in downtown Shepherdstown had a limited garden space that was faithfully maintained by the Potomac-Mecklenburg Garden Club, the size of the library’s new location and the vision behind its overall development required a different approach, according to SPL Director Hali Taylor.

Taylor reached out to three women she believed would be ideal leaders for developing an environmentally-friendly garden plan and turning it into reality, with the help of community volunteers.

“There’s three of us that have been working on it: Peggy Bowers, Carolyn Thomas and myself, Diana Oddenino. Peggy is our little gem hiding here in Jefferson County. She and Carolyn put together this garden plan, and I just do what they tell me to!” Oddenino said, mentioning Bowers has managed more than one notable landscape in a professional capacity, including the gardens at Mount Vernon for seven years.

Oddenino, Bowers and Taylor then proceeded to accept the check from Erie Insurance District Sales Manager Suzanne Bitonti, which was then matched by Insurance Outfitters co-owner Michele Maiden.

The first part of the Habitat Gardens was recently planted by the library’s patio. Tabitha Johnston

According to Maiden, being awarded the grant funding was an unexpected surprise. The grant funding was first applied for, after Thomas contacted Maiden’s office, to see if there would be any funding available through one of Insurance Outfitters’ providers, Erie Insurance. Maiden and her co-owner and husband, Tom, had not previously worked with any of their insurance providers to gain grant funding.

“It was a 50/50 chance [that the grant would be given],” Maiden said. “Now I know that there is a grant process that is pretty easy and pretty seamless, because when you think about processes like that, you think, ‘Oh, what is our chance?’ But within a month we found out — it wasn’t very long at all!”

Combining Bowers’ native plant expertise with Thomas’ gardening experience and Oddenino’s knowledge as a Master Naturalist turned out to be a boon for the development of the Habitat Gardens, as all three leaders share the library’s vision to create a garden that will strengthen the local ecosystem, by using native plants to attract and nourish the lives of native pollinators.

“We like to call it a ‘live scape for the library,’ so it would be an educational experience from the time you get out of your car, because these are all native pollinator plants and the trees, for the whole complete ecosystem and lifecycle of insects and pollinators,” Oddenino said. “There are almost four acres that we will be planting, so we’ve got lots to do, over the years. Gardening is always a work in progress!”

The ecosystem-friendly Habitat Gardens will be one of the many other ways the library is cutting down on its ecological footprint, along with the solar panels and electric car-charging spaces at its new location.

Parking spaces for recharging electric cars are just some of the environment-friendly aspects of the library’s new location. Tabitha Johnston

“We actually have a gardeners list for people to sign up with online — we already have got about 30 volunteers who have signed up!” Bowers said, mentioning individuals and groups of all ages can volunteer to work as a Garden Steward, whether as a one-time or regular commitment. Bowers estimated the Habitat Gardens is a little over halfway toward reaching its $30,000 goal, which she said will be necessary to fully develop it, with a successive $4,000-$5,000 need every year, for maintenance. Intensive work on the gardens will begin in September.

To sign up as a Garden Steward or make a donation to the Habitat Gardens, visit sheplibrary.org/habitat-garden/. For more information, contact Bowers at sundogspeg@gmail.com, Oddenino at oddenino@aol.com or Thomas at crthomas25443@gmail.com.