On Sept. 22, Boggy Creek Airboat Adventures hosted a grand opening of Lily’s Butterfly Garden and Lorelei’s Critter Collection. Located on East Southport Road, Boggy Creek Airboat Adventures took four weeks to build the butterfly garden for the release.
The garden was named after Margie Bryan’s fivemonth- old granddaughter, Lily, who is a big fan of butterflies. Bryan, who owns Boggy Creek Airboat Adventures, said she wanted families to feel connected to Florida and enjoy the nature of Florida.
“This was a parking lot when we took over. This was a state park, which turned into a common park, and then we got the RFP in 2001,” she sad. “My passion for this was to keep everything as natural to Florida as possible. All the plants you see, all the ducks, and of course the butterflies are native to Florida.”
From that moment on, Bryan said she realized she wanted focus on the beauty of Florida at this park. However, Margie had a deeper passion when she started this.
“I love teaching children. I love when kids learn about how beautiful this place is. Learning about the environment, pollution control, and learning about nature,” she said.
The owner is not only passionate about teaching the beauty of Florida, but she is continuing to break boundaries — she is the only woman in business with airboats.
As the Airboat Adventures continue to prosper after 28 years, Bryan said the overall goal is to let everyone see and learn about the beautiful presence of Florida, to bring awareness of the environment, and to bring families and the entire community together.
