Carolyn Lidie Memorial Butterfly Garden Dedicated

approved memorializing the butterfly garden near the Southern Lehigh Public Library as the Carolyn Lidie Memorial Butterfly Garden, recognizing her volunteer work in the community and the township.

“I know we’re all very grateful for the service that Carolyn Lidie provided,” said Supervisor John Gilda in approving the dedication. The action came at Monday's supervisors meeting.

Carolyn Lidie, who passed away in November 2011, sat on multiple committees over her years volunteering with the township. Lidie aided in the construction of an information kiosk for the Saucon Rail Trail and helped organize the ribbon-cutting ceremony for the trail, and volunteered with the Southern Lehigh Public Library and the Saucon Creek Watershed Association, according to a township resolution.

“I don’t know where it all started from. … She spent all these last six years working to preserve the environment and habitat and this was one of these little projects she had on the side," her husband, Stephen, said by phone after the meeting. "It was very kind and thoughtful on their part.”

The butterfly garden, planted in May 2011, is near the The garden contains a bench, an informational post and flower garden that sit along a stream. The garden contains flowers that bloom from spring to fall, providing food and shelter for butterflies.

Lidie's husband placed the park bench, matching the Saucon Rail Trail design, in the garden after her death.

“She never got to see that. That’s one of the last things she wanted me to complete,” Stephen Lidie said.

Carolyn Lidie planted many of the flowers herself, Township Manager Thomas Beil said.

“She was the type of person that had a lot of energy and wanted to get things done. ... You can’t miss it if you walk on the trail, you’ll see the butterfly garden. Carolyn was a really good person. She did a lot for the community,” Beil said.

After approving the dedication, the supervisors gave her husband a memorial plaque to honor her work.

“She didn’t really work for recognition, though she certainly would have appreciated it if she was alive," Stephen Lidie said. "She did have an impact on a lot of people in her own certain way. Every time something like that happens it makes me appreciate how special she was.”