**ARCHIVED POST **
Almost $4,000 in grant money has been provided by the Native Plant Society of Texas and Monarch Watch to fund planting of new Monarch habitat in 18 different community gardens around the state.
The awards were announced March 29 by Cathy Downs, chair of the Bring Back the Monarch to Texas Committee.
The small grants have been awarded to schools, nature centers and other organizations to create demonstration gardens or “Monarch Waystations” with habitat for the migrating Monarchs. The funds must be used to pay for native milkweeds, native nectar plants, mulch, compost and soil. The application process for grants is described here.
The Bring Back the Monarch to Texas Committee was established by the Native Plant Society of Texas and Monarch Watch to raise public awareness for Monarch Butterfly conservation, to produce and distribute milkweeds that support reproduction by Monarch butterflies and to restore Monarch habitat throughout the Texas migration flyway. Monarch Watch is an educational outreach program based at the University of Kansas that engages citizen scientists in large-scale research projects.
Texas provides critical habitat on the primary migration pathway of Monarchs to their wintering grounds in Mexico. The availability of native milkweed host plants, so necessary to assure successive generations continuing north, has declined in Texas. Herbicide-tolerant crops, mowing of roadsides, parks and open areas and continued drought have all had an impact on the number of Monarchs surviving the southern journey to Mexico. Recently released population estimates for the Monarchs over-wintering in Mexico report the butterfly numbers to be at their lowest level since reporting began.
Here is a complete list of the projects receiving grants:
• Beacon Hill Community Garden, San Antonio
• Beacon Hill Playground, San Antonio
• Trinity River Audubon Center, South Dallas
• Helbing Elementary School, Fort Worth
• Agrilife Extension Building, Rockport
• Dogwood Canyon, Cedar Hill
• Bergheim VFD, Bergheim
• Fort Worth Day School, Fort Worth
• Austin Waldorf School, Lakeway
• Acton Nature Center, Acton
• Milano Junction Memorial Garden, Milano
• Terrell Heights Community Garden, San Antonio
• The Falls at Colorado Museum, Marble Falls
• Bluebonnet Montessori School, Lakeway
• Colorado River Refuge, Bastrop
• Katie Prairie Conservancy, NW Houston
• Clark Middle School, Abilene
• Lake Arrowhead Nature Trail, Wichita Falls
**ARCHIVED POST**
**ARCHIVED POST LINKS & PICTURES MAY NOT WORK**
**ARCHIVED POST AUTHOR: Bill Hopkins
