A Very Cool Garden and Exploration Center Will Have a Grand Opening in Missoula Soon

If you went to the Western Montana Fair this year, you may have seen an exciting announcement at a booth outside the Missoula Butterfly House and Insectarium.

The Rocky Mountain Gardens and Gerald W. Marks Exploration Center will have its grand opening on Saturday, September 14, 2024.

Behind the insectarium, the large gated garden has been slowly taking shape since the Insectarium opened last fall. This is all part of a collaboration between the Missoula County Department of Ecology and Extension, the Missoula Butterfly House & Insectarium, and the Conservation District. In the Instagram posts below from the Missoula County Department of Ecology & Extension you'll see that since last spring, volunteers have made tons of progress on the garden.

The first step was to prepare the soil.

Volunteers added special features as the garden came together, like the Aquatic Insectary in the photo below, the first one in Montana.

Another feature that volunteers helped add was a rock configuration meant to mimic the hillsides in our area. They say in the post below that they planted, among other things, Missoula Phlox, a species that's endemic to Missoula.

Looking at the map on their website, you'll see that the gardens will feature areas with different focuses:

• Ornamental Landscaping
• Water Conservation & Filtration
• Pollinator Conservation
• Food Production: Veggies
• Culinary & Medicinal Herbs
• Natural Habitats
• Native Plant Conservation
• Food Production: Fruits and Berries
• Research & Demonstration

On the website, the center and gardens are described as a place to "find connection with community, nature, and our rural heritage in the Rocky Mountain West. The facilities will include "a teaching kitchen, wet lab, meeting spaces and educational gardens."

Tonight, August 20, there's an opportunity for kids aged 7 - 12 to take a cooking class called 'Young Chefs in the Kitchen."

Keep checking their social media channels and website for more opportunities to volunteer and more classes. It looks like this will be a wonderful resource for the community for many years to come.