New Monarch-y
CRANBERRY TWP — In danger of extinction, monarch butterflies are becoming a rare sight in the United States. That's why many wildlife organizations have organized initiatives to help restore the butterfly population before it's too late.
HeartPrints Center for Early Education, 850 Cranberry Woods Drive, recently helped contribute to the cause by planting a garden designed to attract and support the butterflies.
The garden was paid for entirely by a $1,000 grant from PPG Industries. Michele Rice, a HeartPrints parent and a monarch butterfly enthusiast, wrote the application for the grant and picked out the garden's plants.
In addition to being personally interested in helping the monarchs, Rice said having the butterflies at her house in recent years was enjoyable and educational for her children.
“When my oldest son was 3, we planted three milkweeds, and it was the best summer of our lives,” Rice said.
She was especially motivated to plant the HeartPrints garden after the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service reported the number of monarchs making the migratory trip to Mexico was the lowest on record.
The most important plant in the garden is milkweed, which attracts the butterflies and acts as a host plant for the monarch's eggs and larva.
The garden also has flowers that produce nectar throughout the year and birdhouses and birdfeeders to attract other wildlife. All the plants are free of pesticides that can kill butterflies.
Since being planted, the garden has been listed as a monarch Waystation by Monarch Watch, a group that pushes for conservation of the butterflies. It was also certified as a School Yard Wildlife Habitat by the National Wildlife Federation.
Though preschoolers have yet to spot a monarch, the garden has attracted plenty of other wildlife, said HeartPrints co-director Grace Byrnes.
New visitors to the property have included toads, dragonflies and multiple species of birds. The school has acquired a set of binoculars and a bird identification book that students can use to observe and learn about the wildlife, Byrnes said.
The directors of the school were supportive of the garden idea from the start.
“Part of our playground area was very bland. It was just grass and we were trying to come up with something to do with it, so this was a great idea,” Byrnes said.
A group of volunteers and students planted the garden on May 17 and 18. The children also made birdbaths and birdfeeders for the garden and have now been given the responsibility of watering the plants during the daily summer camp that will run until school resumes.
Listed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service as an endangered species, the monarch butterflies migrate as many as 3,000 miles every year between Canada, the United States and Mexico. They have been threatened by deforestation, forest fires, development and agricultural expansion, according to the service's website.
To combat their shrinking numbers the wildlife service has provided support to organizations such as Wildlife Without Borders and the Monarch Joint Venture that work to provide habitat.
President Barack Obama also has gotten involved in the cause. Monday, he established a Pollinator Health Task Force whose mission is to create strategies to combat the declining populations of pollinators including bees, butterflies, birds and bats.
Pollinators are vital for U.S. agriculture, according to a news release from the White House. Animals and insects pollinate 87 of the leading 115 crops in the country and contribute more than $24 billion to the economy annually, the release said.
To learn more about how to help monarch butterflies, visit monarchwatch.org.
