FORT DRUM, N.Y. (Dec. 14, 2023) -- The beauty of the outdoors was brought inside for the annual holiday open house Dec. 14 at LeRay Mansion.
Heather Wagner, Fort Drum Environmental Division outreach and education coordinator, used flowers from the Historic LeRay Mansion District and around the cantonment to decorate two Christmas trees – in addition to making other festive arrangements and ornaments.
Last year, she proposed the idea of creating a holiday display to showcase sustainability, knowing how long it would take to plant and harvest flowers that would dry well and still retain their beauty.
It took months to collect and air dry the flowers – by hanging them upside down – and then craft them into ornaments. At one point, Wagner wasn’t sure if she had enough to decorate two trees, but the harvest proved bountiful.
“We wanted to show people how you could do something unique for the holidays that is sustainable and cost-effective,” Wagner said. “It was a cool sensory experience as well, just smelling and feeling all the flowers. I’ve always enjoyed the outdoors, but to look at the outdoors with an eye toward harvesting and drying flowers made me notice a hundred more things that I ever anticipated.”
The Natural Resources team helped build a no-dig flower garden with wood chip compost last spring. As with the cottage pollinator garden, Wagner said this demonstrated the Environmental Division’s commitment to working harmoniously with the environment by selecting flower species that support vital pollinators.
“This year, our cottage garden had more pollinators than I have ever seen before,” she said.
Visitors at the open house also learned about Natural Resources Branch's conservation initiative to maintain pollinator habitats throughout the installation through a “No/Less Mow” plan. Wagner said people have been curious why certain areas along roadsides were not being landscaped as usual.
“It’s really just a matter of managing people’s expectations with a changing aesthetic,” she said. “In time, I think people won’t even notice, and now we are going to have butterfly and bee habitats in those areas. So, it was kind of cool to talk about how these little changes can have a big impact on our environment.”
Kae Young, Fort Drum retiree and Lowville resident, was among dozens of visitors to the mansion for the open house.
“It’s really nice to come back on post and visit with friends and colleagues,” she said. “LeRay Mansion looks beautiful this time of year, and the Cultural Resources team does an amazing job at decorating for the holidays.”
Young participated in the inaugural Beautify LeRay Day event in 2018, when community members helped plant new trees and flowers around the mansion. Some of those perennials were used in the holiday decorations.
“All those years ago, we spent a Saturday afternoon digging and planting flowers – not knowing if we did it right or if they were going to grow,” she said. “It’s kind of neat to see those flowers on display today.”
The decorations will remain inside LeRay Mansion until mid-January, so there are still opportunities for community members to visit.
For more information, visit www.facebook.com/FortDrumCulturalResources or call (315) 772-7170.
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