The beautiful and ecologically significant monarch butterfly has been in decline worldwide in recent years and its annual migration down the eastern seaboard is believed to be under threat. This raise-and-release project is a combination of volunteer stewardship, invasive plant management, native re-vegetation, and public education all aimed at encouraging a monarch population at Fresh Pond. Read on!
2024's Monarch Butterfly Release Celebration is scheduled for Sunday, August 18th 2:00-3:30pm
2:00 - Meet & Greet the butterflies, peruse educational materials, work on Jr. Ranger Booklets, crafts, tables and more!
2:15 - Join storyteller Yumi Izuyama in hearing about the Monarch's journey to Mexico!
2:50 - March with us to the nearby Milkweed Meadow area of Kingsley Park and see the release!
3:00 - Feel free to return to the Celebration area to continue looking at the educational materials and finish your booklet!
New elements this year: craft and origami butterfly and add it to our symbolic Oyamel Fir, and traditional Mexican celebration facepainting!
See the different stages of life up close and personal!
This event is also another opportunity to earn a Fresh Pond Jr. Ranger Badge! Complete the required sections in the free activity booklet provided!
Monarch Release:
The 2024 Monarch Butterfly Release Celebration will take place on Sunday August 18th from 2:00pm to 3:30pm
2:00 - Meet & Greet the butterflies, peruse educational materials, work on Jr. Ranger Booklets, crafts, tables and more!
2:15 - Join storyteller Yumi Izuyama in hearing about the Monarch's journey to Mexico!
2:50 - March with us to the nearby Milkweed Meadow area of Kingsley Park and see the release!
3:00 - Feel free to return to the Celebration area to continue looking at the educational materials and finish your booklet!
Feel free to visit the caterpillars in the Ranger Station until the 18th to check their progress!
The monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus) is an amazing insect and pollinator. Migrating every late summer-early fall, a single individual may travel thousands of miles to overwinter in warmer climates; even a monarch from Canada will travel to the forests of Mexico on its small wings!
Unfortunately, this inspiring species is threatened worldwide and has been "red listed" as endangered by the IUCN since July 2022. In North America, the population is estimated to have dropped by nearly 90% from the 1990s to the present day. While monarch butterflies face numerous threats throughout their life cycle – both natural and human-induced—it is widely acknowledged that habitat loss is the single most devastating blow to the species in North America. Specifically, monarch butterflies depend upon milkweed (Asclepia spp.), which is generally in decline across the country, for their caterpillars to hatch and mature into adults. Additionally, overwintering sites in Mexico are under threat from logging.
But we have a chance to make a difference here at Fresh Pond! In this project, we will:
- plant milkweed to bolster the plant’s spread on the Reservation
- plant additional butterfly-friendly wildflowers as nectar sources
- weed out invasive black swallow-wort, which pushes out native nectar plants and also (as a relative to milkweed) upon which monarchs mistakenly lay eggs, poisoning caterpillars
- raise 50+ monarch caterpillars and release them
- increase public awareness through programming, events, and media
While we hope this will benefit the monarch population, this project will also improve habitat for other pollinators, upon which healthy native plant communities depend. Healthy plant communities improve natural water quality protection, biodiversity and the overall aesthetic of the Reservation.
Learn more about the magnificent monarch butterfly and conservation efforts at:
MonarchWatch.org: Education, Conservation, & Research
Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation
University of Minnesota: Finding, Collecting, and Growing Milkweed
PBS.org: Journey of the Butterflies
News articles:
Vox.com article: Monarch butterflies are headed for extinction. We may have to get creative to save them.
Telegraph article: Monarch butterflies use internal compass to find their way
Boston.com: Cambridge declares war on invasive vine
Contact Ranger Tim Puopolo, the Volunteer & Outreach Coordinator, with questions about this project at (617) 349-6489 or tpuopolo@cambridgeMA.gov