KITTERY, Maine — Four garden beds arranged in the shape of a butterfly have sat behind Traip Academy overgrown in weeds, largely unkept. The secret spot is an oasis, with modern sculptures overlooking the water and Portsmouth Naval Shipyard. It occupies the land outside of the art room’s windows.
Traip senior Skylar George wondered about it. Over the years she’d heard it called “the butterfly garden,” which made sense considering its shape. For her senior capstone project, she began working on a plan to bring the garden back to life.
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Then, George heard the name Marcia Abigail Ryder.
“This garden had way more sentimental value to the school than I ever thought,” George said. “I had no idea who this amazing woman was.”
Her project, which she presented to the school Wednesday, morphed into an ode to a remarkable woman she’d never met, and an avenue to allow a legacy of passion and light live on.
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Most students today aren’t aware of the unassuming garden’s meaning, but in 2010, it was planted to honor Ryder, a beloved 27-year Traip Academy art teacher who died of cancer in 2008 at age 56. It was designed to mimic Ryder’s own garden full of butterfly plants, and love of butterflies.
She loved incorporating nature into her art teachings.
George’s capstone culminated in the creation of a garden handbook, named after Ryder, to serve as a framework for caring for and maintaining the garden going forward. It features sections on flowers, landscaping and pest control.
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“As I learned more and more about Marcia, at the school and from people who’d known her, I realized that I was going to need to dig a lot deeper and I was going to have to involve her in this handbook,” George said.
So, George had a “handbook to write and a woman’s memory to find.” She connected with Ryder’s husband, Roger Cole, who lives in Kittery. Through Cole, George was able to learn more about the woman who essentially guided her project. At the end of her research, George said she’d collected enough information to write a “seven-page speech” about Ryder.
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“She wasn’t a normal art teacher,” George said. “She liked to integrate all kinds of different things. She liked to inspire kids, but she stayed out of the limelight herself.”
George said almost no one at the school knew of Ryder’s ongoing battle with cancer. “She made sure everyone got their light, and left herself in the shadows,” she said.
George spent a significant amount of time on the flower section of her handbook to make sure her selections were “right for Marcia and good in Maine.”
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Adamant about renaming the garden officially as the “Ryder Garden,” George said it became clear to her “the one person that the garden was meant for, no one knew who it was for.” Her entire project, she said, was dedicated to Ryder.
The handbook also features Ryder’s artwork, and some of her quotes, including, “Life, love, family. Those who are exceptional on this planet remain with us forever.”
“She was not a simple woman,” George said. “She was complex and amazing.”
George’s presentation Wednesday brought tears to the eyes of many who attended. Cole, who sat in the back row, said he was moved that more than 10 years after her death, his wife was still inspiring students.
“I didn’t even know her in life, but I think I got to know her more in death,” George concluded.
Hoping to study sustainable agriculture in the fall at Unity College, George plans to pass her garden handbook off to a Traip advisory class that will be tasked with its upkeep.