Butterfly sculpture dedicated by Rosalynn Carter in Plains

Former first lady Rosalynn Carter has dedicated a sculpture of monarch butterflies in a garden named for her in Plains, Georgia — part of Carter’s continuing advocacy for butterflies and their habitat.

Former President Jimmy Carter also attended the dedication ceremony Saturday. The statue is in the Rosalynn Smith-Carter Childhood Garden, next to her childhood home. It is meant to honor Carter days before her 95th birthday on Thursday.

Plains resident Tim Buchannan told WRBL-TV that the sculpture by artist Peter Hazel is to raise awareness of “what the monarch needs to survive, because it was added to the endangered species list just recently.”

The sculpture titled the “Monarch Tree” stands about 15 feet (4.6 meters) tall and 15 feet (4.6 meters) wide, with eight stumps and 18 butterflies.

Organizers plan to add plants nearby to attract butterflies. It’s the flagship of the Rosalynn Carter Butterfly Trail, an effort to create and register public and private butterfly gardens around the world.

More than 400 public and more than 1,000 private gardens have been registered so far, according to the trail’s website. That includes 21 in and around Plains.