Dedication to garden projects leads to county honor
Dedication to garden projects leads to county honor
Maire Caverley joined the Faulkner County Master Gardeners in 2014 and quickly hit the ground running. Caverley, whose first name is pronounced “Mora,” was named Faulkner County Rookie of the Year in 2014. Most recently, she was named the 2016 Faulkner County Master Gardener of the Year during the March 8 general meeting at Antioch Baptist Church in Conway.
“I was very surprised,” said Caverley, who lives outside Mayflower in the River Plantation subdivision near the Arkansas River.
“I was sitting there at the meeting, knowing I was among those members who had worked 200-plus hours and would receive a certificate for that, but I had no idea I was going to be named Master Gardener of the Year,” she said.
“I heard my name called, and I thought, ‘What did she say?’” Caverley said, laughing. “I had no clue. I am thrilled … and very honored.”
Gardening in Arkansas is a lot different than gardening in New York.” Maire Caverley 2016 FAULKNER COUNTY MASTER GARDENER OF THE YEAR
Sunnie Ruple of Vilonia, past president of the local Master Gardeners, introduced Caverley, telling those in the audience, “Maire has logged in an amazing 501.75 project [work] hours and has obtained 66 education hours.
“She was the plant-sale chairman in 2016 and led over 20 subcommittees in making the plant sale an overwhelming success. She co-chaired the previous year and must have learned the ropes well because she steered the event to have record-breaking profits, making it possible to fund the Master Gardeners’ projects and scholarships.”
Kami Marsh of Conway, agriculture agent for the Faulkner County Cooperative Extension Service, University of Arkansas, Division of Agriculture, and adviser to the Master Gardeners, described Caverley as “a great volunteer.”
“She may be quiet, while I am loud, but she does a great job leading her fellow volunteers,” Marsh said. “She may be the ‘leader’ but is always right there with them getting the job done … wouldn’t trade her for the world.”
Marsh said there are more than 225 members, who are all volunteers, of the Faulkner County Master Gardeners program. To become a Master Gardener, a person must complete a 40-hour training class. Once a person becomes a Master Gardener, he or she is required to give back 40 working hours and 20 education hours during the first year. To maintain the Master Gardener certification, one must give back 20 working hours and 20 education hours each year thereafter.
Ruple said Caverley co-presented a session at the Plant, Nurture, Grow Conference in the fall titled How to Have a Successful Plant Sale.
“It was well-planned and — executed,” said Ruple, adding that Caverley will now be considered for the Arkansas Master Gardener of the Year Award that will be announced in June. “The session was highly rated by the attendees and gave other counties great ideas on how to improve their own plant sales.
“Maire dedicated many hours to other projects as well, including the Mayflower Public Library, Faulkner County Museum, Legacy Gardens, Faulkner County Courthouse and the Social Committee. Maire worked with the community during her volunteer hours at the Arkansas State Flower and Garden Show, assisting with the children’s activities. She also participated in Arbor Day activities in Conway, distributing trees and educating the public on care and planting techniques.”
Maire, 68, and her husband, Andrew “Andy” Caverley, 69, are both from Ireland. They moved to the United States in 1970 when his employer [the Irish airline company Aer Lingus] asked him to relocate to New York City. Andy worked for Aer Lingus for 40 years, leaving in 2004 and going to work for JetBlue Airways, retiring in 2014.
“I had worked with Aer Lingus, too,” Maire said. “That’s where we met.
“I applied for a transfer and received it, so we moved to New York.” He worked in purchasing and supply, and she worked in customer relations.
“We were young … in our 20s,” she said, smiling. “Who wouldn’t want to work in New York City? It was quite an opportunity for us, one we couldn’t turn down.”
“We first lived in Queens and then bought a house on Long Island, where we lived for about 35 years.”
“I worked for Aer Lingus in Dublin, [Ireland], for just a couple of years and then got a job with them in customer relations in New York in 1970,” she said. “I worked in the customer relations department in Manhattan until 1973, when I left to become a stay-at-home mom. I temped for them on and off until both my kids were in school and then was a fulltime temp with them until an ex-colleague offered me a job with Avis Europe, based in Garden City, Long Island, which was close to home and to my kids’ school. I worked there in international sales and marketing from 1989 to 2004, when I got a job offer from Rail Europe Group. I worked there first as director of sales and then as director of national accounts until 2010.”
The Caverleys became American citizens in 2000. They have been married 47 years and have two sons.
Their older son, Jonathan Caverley, 43, and his wife, Jen Light, live in Cambridge, Massachusetts, with their children, Anja, 10, and Fleix, 5. Jonathan teaches political science at the Naval War College in Newport, Rhode Island.
Their younger son, Neil Caverley, 38, and his wife, Arleigh Giroux, live in San Francisco, California, where he works in risk management at the Bank of America headquarters.
Andy and Maire moved to Arkansas in 2014.
Maire said they had been coming to Arkansas “for nearly 40 years” to visit her sister, so when they began to think about retirement, they considered moving to Arkansas.
Her sister, Claire Borroho, lives next door to them in the River Plantation subdivision.
“When this lot came up for sale, Claire let us know about it, and we bought it,” Maire said.
“We knew we wanted to move south of New York. We wanted the warmer weather, longer growing seasons. We wanted to be able to be outdoors more,” she said.
“I also have a sister, Aine Hynes in Florida, but it’s really too hot and humid there, so we decided to retire in Arkansas,” Maire said, adding that she still has two sisters and a brother in Ireland — Evelyn Hennelly, Una Walsh and Ciaran Folan.
“I come from a big family,” Maire said. “My parents were Rita and Stephen Folan. My father was a high school principal, and my mother was a dietitian and a homemaker. She had a big garden. I think that’s where I got my love of gardening.”
Caverley joined the Master Gardeners soon after the couple moved to Arkansas.
“I was in the class of 2014,” she said. “Gardening in Arkansas is a lot different than gardening in New York. Different things grow here that would never grow up there.
“I had a lot to learn. I’m still learning. The Master Gardeners is a wonderful group of people. They share their knowledge, their plants and their advice.”
Caverley said she did the landscaping for their home.
She said she likes hydrangeas, which she also grew in New York.
“I had a shady backyard there, but here, we have mostly sun, so I am trying to find what works best here,” she said. “I try to add new plants every year. I have used the Arkansas Diamond plants, which are locally grown plants chosen for their adaptability to Arkansas heat and humidity.”
She said she also has a few roses, some small shrubs, hawthorn, American beautyberry, sweet olive trees and perennials.
“I also love day lilies,” she said. “In the fall, I plant pansies in pots and place them around the porch just so I will have color.
“I also plant flowers that will attract butterflies and hummingbirds. Master Gardeners are especially interested in plants that are butterfly-friendly.”
Caverley is in charge of planning the “digs” for this year’s Master Gardeners Plant Sale, which will be from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. May 13 at the Conway Expo Center and Fairgrounds, 2505 E. Oak St. Members go to various sites and dig plants from individuals’ yards that will be repotted and sold at the plant sale.
“When I finish with the plant sale, Andy and I want to do some road trips around Arkansas,” she said. “We have been to some places, but there are so many others that we want to visit. There are so many state parks that we want to see. We want to learn all we can about Arkansas.
“I just recently started hiking at Pinnacle [State Park] with the Wednesday Wild Women group. It’s a weekly hike on the different trails, usually led by the park interpreter. I’ve really enjoyed the ones I’ve done so far.”