Today the monarchs are in the news. I've seen news about the state of the migratory eastern North American monarch population from WWF, David Suzuki Foundation, and the Globe and Mail.
None of this news is good news. It's hard to imagine that any species can bounce back from such a hard hit to its genetic pool.
I've been thinking about the monarch's population quite a bit over the past year and what we can actually do to help.
The fragile connection between native insect populations and native plant communities is the number one reason why I like to talk so much about planting native plants. Plants convert sunlight energy into leafy green material and insects convert most of that plant material into protein. Both crucial links in the food chain and energy cycle. The rest of us can't survive without those links.
This summer I am going to try really hard to get my butterfly milkweed to grow and take over my balcony. I'll give it anything it wants. Then I will make sure to distribute the seed through the North American Native Plant Society Seed Exchange. Butterfly milkweed is one of the most beautiful garden plants. Nothing else is quite that orange. And sharing local seed is a great way to ensure that local plant genetics are maintained.
And this weekend I am going to go see Flight of the Butterflies at the Ontario Science Centre. I heard about this film last August when I was at the annual Butterfly Festival at Tommy Thompson Park. I really feel like I need to know more about this story.
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