The Problem
The declining population of Monarch butterflies.
Our Plan
Making a butterfly garden with host plants for Monarch Butterflies and other pollinators. (completed small garden in 2022) In hopes to help conserve the Monarch Butterfly population, we have added on to the project we started in 2022. In 2022 the children in our Preschool program ripped out a section of grass and created a pollinator garden. Over the course of spring/summer 2023 we ripped out two areas of grass and began planting a Monarch specific garden. This time the project was a combined effort between our Preschool and (small) School Age Program. Unfortunately we suffered a setback when our garden was eaten by bunnies, but it was a learning lesson for us, and we will approach planting differently this spring. In addition to the gardens, we decided to purchase a native batch of monarch caterpillars and raise them to adulthood within a greenhouse. The idea was they would breed and lay eggs within the contained setting. We would then release the butterflies to the wild once we saw eggs so they can continue the life cycle in nature. Within our greenhouse, we would ensure the eggs make it to adulthood and continue this cycle throughout the season. As a fun side project, we tagged our butterflies and monitored within our community to see how many stayed local. Our final Monarchs of the season were tagged for the Monarch Watch Program. We are looking forward to adding more on this spring as funding permits. Spring 2023 We are continuing our work to help with Monarch Butterfly conservation. With the staggering decline in numbers we decided to reassess our plan and look at what would really help. We deceided to forgo any rearing, unless we naturally found any caterpillars, so we could focus on researching Monarch specific plants. We also had to figure around the issues we had with bunnies eating our plants last year. We decided to do two large raised flower beds and a bed close to the road to hopefully keep the bunnies away. Everything would be planted with Monarch specific plants for both butterfly and caterpillar stages. While researching we learned about becoming a Monarch Waystation through Monrach Watch and decided to work toward this as well. Our end result was two beautiful raised flower box beds, some milkweed plants planted around the parameter of our rain garden, and a fully certified Monarch Waystation garden on the side of our parking lot that the public can acess as well. We have future hopes of getting funding to be able to add a bench and some informative literature for visitors to be able to read while enjoying our garden. The children wanted to make the garden fancy so they have been painting recycled pavers to make a boarder, which will be continued as we find the pavers. As a bonus, we did find just one Monarch caterpillar on one of our milkweed plants, which we took in to ensure its safety from predators. In the classroom we watched the metamorphosis process and then released our butterfly on a beautiful sunny day.
Themes Addressed
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Endangered Species
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Habitat Destruction
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Migratory species
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Pollinators
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The Benefit
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People
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Animals
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Environment
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