MARQUETTE — A statewide care giving initiative led by IMPART Alliance in partnership with AgeAlive at Michigan State University College of Osteopathic Medicine is continuing to expand across the Upper Peninsula through a series of community-based Healing Art Garden installations focused on honoring caregivers, supporting mental health, and addressing Michigan’s growing direct care worker shortage.

Following the opening of the Upper Peninsula’s primary exhibit at the Ishpeming Multi-Purpose Senior Center, three new Satellite Gardens are now launching across the region:

• May 12 — Escanaba Public Library, 2-4 p.m.

• May 13 — Keweenaw Bay Indian Community / Ojibwa Land Seniors in Baraga, 11 a.m.-1 p.m.


• May 14 — Trillium House in partnership with Caregiver Incentive Project in Marquette, 11 a.m.-1 p.m.

Created by artist-in-residence Zahrah Resh, A Caregiver’s Butterfly Garden invites participants to write a private reflection before folding the paper into a butterfly–creating collective installations centered around caregiving, healing, storytelling, and connection.

Each location explores caregiving through a different community lens:

• Carolyn Stacey of Escanaba Public Library describes libraries as “places of empathy, connection, and community dialogue,” adding that the library is proud to participate in a project that “encourages understanding across generations and highlights the value of caregiving.”

• Melissa Cavill of Trillium House says the installation reflects “the care and contemplation that each of us experiences when caring for another in their most vulnerable moments,” creating a meaningful space for reflection within hospice care.

• Suzanne Sharland-Hemmila of Caregiver Incentive Project says the butterfly gardens offer “a beautiful way” to train, support, and uplift caregivers through art, visibility, and community engagement.

• Joslyn Haataja of Keweenaw Bay Indian Community speaks candidly about caregiver burnout, saying, “Some people don’t even realize they are caregivers,” while highlighting the urgent workforce shortage and the emotional realities families face when trying to care for loved ones at home.

Together, these installations create a compelling regional story about caregiving in the Upper Peninsula–bringing together libraries, Indigenous communities, hospice organizations, artists, researchers, and community members through a shared human experience.

The initiative is also helping advance Michigan State University’s broader Culture of Care efforts and Age-Friendly University goals through AgeAlive, reinforcing the importance of intergenerational connection, inclusion, mental wellness and caregiving support across communities.