April 2016 - Parks & Recreation - 58

MONARCHS

ments on the above, visit www.nrpa.
org/parks4monarchs.
" Seize the Milkweed Day " and Other
Cool Monarch Conservation Ideas
In response to online queries and
a continuing dialogue on NRPA
Connect (www.nrpaconnect.org), it
is evident that several park and rec
agencies are displaying considerable creativity in developing monarch conservation activities. They
are planting milkweeds in new or
restored habitat with new volunteer
partnerships, engaging the public in
citizen science or conservation projects in new ways, and involving children and youth through hands-on
education programs.

56	 Parks & Recreation

Alexandra McFadden, education coordinator for New Bedford
Parks, Recreation and Beaches in
New Bedford, Massachusetts, says,
" We have an after-school program
at Hayden-McFadden Elementary
School that has been participating in a
weekly pollinator education program.
Every Friday after school, about 50
students work with a local college
student to learn about pollinators like
monarch butterflies and why they are
so important. They do all kinds of
research and arts and crafts projects
relating to pollinators and plant milkweed seeds in soil to take home to
replant in their own gardens for monarch conservation. The program will
culminate with a trip to a local university to present their research and see
Jane Goodall give a presentation on
environmental conservation. "
Cedar Rapids, Iowa, has gone
hog wild for monarchs. Residents
Clark McLeod and Cam Watts have
organized an effort to plant 25,000
milkweed plugs in and around Cedar Rapids and grow them in tented
enclosures to produce the highest
possible number of monarchs from
eggs. Twenty-five organizations
have mobilized to plant the milkweeds and raise monarchs during
a two-year cycle in protected environments called Monarch Zones.
Jenny Corbett, lead naturalist at
Wickiup Hill Learning Center of
Linn County Parks says her agency will conduct public education
programs and tours of a large
bio-tent to show the various
stages of monarch life cycle. The Learning Center
is working with a
local beekeepers group to
teach a yearlong beekeepers class to promote planting nectar

| A P R I L 2 0 1 6 | W W W. PA R K S A N D R E C R E AT I O N . O R G

plants, also essential to monarchs
during their life cycle, and promote
habitat creation for all pollinators.
" By helping one, " says Corbett,
" you are helping others. " Corbett
loves a special Wickiup Hill event
called " Seize the Milkweed Day, "
during which 1,000 locally grown
milkweed plugs are distributed.
In Fort Worth, Texas, Gail Manning, entomologist and education
team leader at the Fort Worth Botanic Gardens, part of the Fort Worth
Parks and Recreation Department,
says " I collect wild milkweed seeds
from local native milkweed plants,
package them up with an instruction sheet and distribute them to
the public. " She says the center has
an extensive program for monarchs
and other pollinators. " I came up
with the idea for distributing milkweed seeds simply because I wanted to give people an opportunity to
provide habitat for monarchs. We
talk a lot about creating habitat for
monarchs, and this just seemed one
of the best ways to do it. " She noted the importance of planting other
nectar-bearing plants on which a variety of pollinators can feed, but it is
monarchs that the public loves most.
" When the weather cools and monarchs come through Fort Worth, our
residents might see a dozen monarchs. When they come here to the
botanic garden they might see hundreds. People really look forward to
the migration of the monarchs. "
Rodney Tissue, professional engineer for the Hagerstown, Maryland
Department of Parks and Engineering, reported on a partnership project
with the local Kiwanis Club, which
dedicated its new trailside park near
Antietam Creek as a monarch waystation. He said on the day they
planted the milkweed, " monarch butterflies were landing on the milkweed
plants. It was amazing. "
April 2016 - Parks & Recreation

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of April 2016 - Parks & Recreation
