What’s the big deal about a small creature like the monarch butterfly? It may have something to do with the monarch being the favorite butterfly of most people and that it was recently declared “endangered.” Their numbers have indeed dropped precipitously over the last twenty years due to widespread destruction of its host plant (milkweed), pesticide usage, climate change, and logging pressure on its overwintering habitat in the mountains of central Mexico.
In Newton, over two hundred people showed their concern by participating the Second Annual Monarch Festival held September 17 – a peak time for monarch migration here. Appropriately, the festival activities were adjacent to the monarch butterfly garden at Wellington Park in West Newton, which also happens to be an official registered “Monarch Waystation,” one of seven in Newton. The festival was cosponsored by Newton Conservators, Newton Parks, Recreation, and Culture, and Friends of Wellington Park to help raise awareness of the monarchs’ plight and what steps can be taken locally to help.
There were five tables of kids’ butterfly activities and arts and crafts under the supervision of Channon Ames from Newton Parks, Recreation and Culture. With scissors, yarn, crayons, colorful makers, glue, paper, and games, children and parents created their own butterfly art and learned much about the monarch’s life cycle — from egg to caterpillar to chrysalis to butterfly. A puppet demonstration of the monarch’s life cycle drew rapt attention. And a monarch migration game had children drawing colorful flowers with chalk, using the adjacent basketball court as their canvas, before jumping from flower to flower simulating the monarchs’ perilous journey from Newton to Mexico.
There was great interest in the pollinator and butterfly garden tours highlighting the importance of planting milkweed and native plants. Everyone was fascinated by the tiny egg discovered by some of the children on the underside of a common milkweed leaf in the monarch garden. Many monarch-savvy local volunteers made the festival a success for attendees by providing free native milkweed plants, seed packets and pods from their gardens, and instructions on planting and growing milkweed and instructions on raising monarchs from eggs.
They also brought along monarch caterpillars, chrysalises, and even recently emerged monarch butterflies, which were the stars of the festival. And later a crowd gathered to watch as a small sticker was attached to one of the monarch’s wings to help track its migration. The monarch then climbed onto a child volunteer’s finger to be released to the sky, much to the delight of the crowd. Everyone came away with a better understanding of monarchs, their needs, and steps we can take to help them. You can find information on the Newton Conservators Monarchs & Milkweed web page. And watch for the Third Annual Monarch Festival next September!
Ted Kuklinski is Past President of the Newton Conservators
