Skip to main content

Virtual Monarch Migration Festival

Event Date(s)
Location
Online
County
Knox

Celebrate All Things Monarch Butterfly! Join us September 8 - 12 at 1 p.m. for special workshops, activities, and informational presentations.

Schedule of Activities:

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.