Celebrate All Things Monarch Butterfly! Join us September 8 - 12 at 1 p.m. for special workshops, activities, and informational presentations. Individual bags with supplies for each activity will be available on August 31 from 4 p.m. - 6 p.m. at Lakeside Recreation Center, 1033 S. Lake Storey Rd., Galesburg, IL. Pick up will be drive by only. If you are unable to pick up your bag during this time, please contact Chelsea Moberg at Lakeside, (309) 343-8036. If you do not live near Galesburg to pick up the activity bag, please select the option no activity bag needed. You will still receive the Zoom information to join in on all the fun!
Schedule of Activities:
Sept. 8: Learn all about tagging and releasing Monarch butterflies for scientific research. Master Naturalist Rhonda Brady will take you step by step through the process and you will see an actual release.
Sept. 9: Join BJ Kochersperger and learn all about the Monarch lifecycle and see live examples.
Sept. 10: Create your own Monarch Life Cycle artwork using uncooked pasta. Lead by Master Naturalist Teresa Sanford Shipplett.
Sept. 11: Build your own winter sowing greenhouse and grow your own milkweed seeds. Lead by Master Gardener and Farm Bureau Educator, Roxanne Green.
Sept. 12: Virtual tour of a Monarch Waystation. Learn all about the plants needed to attract and sustain pollinators.
Each day's activities will be recorded and a link to the recordings will be provided to all registrants to view at another time.
Monarch Migration Festival
We come together each year to celebrate and raise awareness for the Monarch butterfly. Join the festivities!
Monarch Migration
Every fall, hundreds of millions of monarch butterflies migrate from the United States and Canada to Mexico and California for the winter. They return in the spring as the weather becomes warm enough for flight. The monarch migration is truly one of the world's greatest natural wonders, yet it is threatened by habitat loss in North America.
Why We Are Concerned
Monarch butterflies are struggling to find the food they need along their journey. They eat milkweed leaves as caterpillars and suck nectar from flowers as adults. However, as farm crops and roadsides are sprayed to control weeds and bugs, much of the milkweed and nectar sources are wiped out. This makes it harder for butterflies to survive. Because 90% of monarch habitat is in what is now, farmland, those of us living in this area can make a big impact.
Monarch Waystations
Monarch waystations are habitats that serve as safe places where monarchs can find food and shelter to lay their eggs. They also provide the flowers and nectar that monarch butterflies need. A monarch waystation can be part of an already existing garden. Not only will this help the monarchs survive their journey, but you will also be creating a beautiful garden or prairie field.