We added this page so all of you that are interested in Monarchs can find links and other useful information. Listed below are links to this information! Whether you share a love of monarch butterflies or realize that humans rely on pollinators, such as honeybees, to propagate our own food resources, the time for waiting to help is over!!
See a video of monitoring Monarchs at Metea County Park. Click Here
See Jeff Ormiston’s video of Monarchs from Start to Finish. Click Here
Volunteers can assist park staff in collecting eggs and larva, and helping with their daily care. You can contact us at either Nature Center at 449-3180 or 449-3777. We usually start these efforts in July through September each year.
You could consider fostering monarch survival on your own property by growing milkweeds or even by rearing and releasing them yourself. Listed below is a program at Fox Island that can help you with this.
If you own any Wetland Reserve Program (WRP) lands, check with local District Conservationist, Tim Bomba, 260-484-5848 x110, to see if they can be included in pollinator habitat enhancement efforts.
If you own 5 acres or more, you can also check with USFWS (United States Fish and Wildlife Service) Private Lands Biologist, Scott Fetters, at scott_fetters@fws.gov.
If you would like to learn how to grow a pollinator habitat in your backyard, contact Purdue Horticulture Extension Educator, Ricky Kemery, 260-481-6826 or sign up for this program at Fox Island County Park on October 18, 2015 from 1:30 pm – 3:00 pm, Learn how to successfully plant and grow milkweed seeds and transplant existing plants. Participants will leave with milkweed seeds to plant. Its free if you have a parks annual pass or $2/person otherwise. Contact Jeff Ormiston at 449-3180 to register or more information!
You can purchase native wildflowers today from Riverview Nursery, Inc., 260-704-5092, riverview.flowers@gmail.com. Ask for Martha Ferguson.