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The Monarch butterfly population has declined to the lowest point in over twenty years according to research scientists. The Native Plant Society of Texas is raising awareness by awarding grants to build Monarch butterfly demonstration gardens for a second year through its Bring Back the Monarchs to Texas program.
Grants of between $50 to $400 will be awarded to qualifying applicants to build Monarch Waystations or demonstration gardens containing milkweed and butterfly nectar plants. The application deadline is March 15 and all grants will be awarded by April 19. More details here.
Last year Bring Back the Monarch to Texas helped create 19 Monarch demonstration or Monarch Waystation gardens across the state. The purpose of Bring Back the Monarchs to Texas is to educate about Monarch conservation, to produce and distribute milkweeds that support reproduction by Monarch butterflies, and to restore Monarch habitats throughout the Texas migration flyway.
Program chair Cathy Downs reported that her committee distributed $4,000 between 19 locations to build, certify and/or improve Monarch habitat last year. Eleven of the gardens are completed; eight have certified as Monarch Waystations and three are pending certification. Four locations are doing additional planting and four others will continue construction in the spring. Six of the gardens thus far have received on-site visits and either a Monarch presentation or a workshop.
One garden hosted a bike run with a garden tour and Monarch info booth. Another garden had a tagging event with 275 folks tagging 360 Monarchs. One garden introduced “Monarchs in the Classroom” to the local school system and another was interviewed by their local TV station. Three gardens wrote articles for their newspapers or other publications.
According to the World Wildlife Fund, the Monarch population has reached the lowest number in twenty years.
In an interview published by the Washington Post, Lincoln Brower, a professor of biology at Sweet Briar College who has studied monarch migrations for decades, cited three reasons for Monarch population decline — deforestation in Mexico, recent bouts of severe weather, and the growth of herbicide-based agriculture destroying crucial milkweed flora in the Midwest.
The Bring Back the Monarchs to Texas program is also looking for educators and presenters to help get the message across all over the state, as well as volunteers for varied activities such as planting seeds and helping out at education booths.If you would like to help support the program please donate online.
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**ARCHIVED POST AUTHOR: Bill Hopkins
