2021 Annual Monarch Butterfly Festival!

September 15, 2021

The monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus) is a special and beloved North American insect that journeys 2,000 miles (one-way) in its migration journey annually. This is the largest of all known insect migrations on Earth! Unfortunately, this remarkable animal has experienced an 80% decline in population across North America between 1994 - 95 and 2014 -15. This has ignited to action a multitude of groups and individuals to try to reverse this trend. Universities, government agencies, and conservation groups are trying to restore monarch habitat to ensure the monarch butterfly doesn't become another extinct species. Click the graphic below to continue reading about the monarch in a downloadable educational resource. 

EBC has been doing its part to bring back monarch habitat through our 'no milkweed, no monarch' campaign earlier this year and in 2020. We received an overwhelming response, nearly 2,000 people from every province and most US states, emailed to request milkweed seeds. The seeds planted build critical habitat along all the monarch migration routes.  

EBC's 2021 Monarch Butterfly Festival looks a little different again this year and is comprised of three parts:
  • Encore of last year's virtual Monarch Butterfly Festival
  • EBC staff went out with OLTA to record monarch tagging and releasing
  • Printable/PDF educational resource
2021 Annual Monarch Butterfly Festival
 
For those of you who missed our 2020 Annual Monarch Butterfly Festival with monarch specialist, Audrey Armstrong and the Ontario Land Trust Alliance (OLTA), we would like to give you the opportunity to watch and learn from the wealth of knowledge provided last year. If you did get to watch it last year, why not re-watch and brush up on your skills? Perhaps you will learn something new that you missed last year! Click the button below to watch the event.
 

Click here to watch

Monarch Tagging and Release

EBC's Regional Conservation Coordinators, Liv Callo and Shannon MacDonald joined by OLTA at Michael's Bay to record footage of monarch tagging and releasing. Thank you to Jeffrey Driscol (OLTA's Program & Communications Coordinator) for collating the video footage for us all to watch and learn.  
 

Watch our Monach Tagging Video Here!

 
Educational Resource

Finally, EBC produced a FREE downloadable digital resource package about the incredible monarch butterfly. Learn from engaging illustrations and top tips for creating a successful monarch-friendly garden! Click the graphic below to download the educational resource.
 
resource
Please share photographs of your learning and participation in our 2021 Annual Monarch Butterfly Festival by tagging us in social media posts or emailing your photographs to info@escarpment.ca. If you chose to email your photographs, please include Monarch Butterfly Festival 2021, in the subject line. If you would like to tag uson social media, please do so here:
  • Facebook: @EscarpmentBiosphereConservancy
  • Instagram: @escarpment_conservancy
  • Twitter: @EscarpmentBC

To learn more about the different butterflies across Ontario, register for the final 'Summer of Pollinators: Butterflies' which is being held on September 21st at 7pm. EBC will be joined by Ryan Godfrey from the World Wildlife Fund and Elisabeth Shapiro, a Wildlife Biologist with over 10 years of experience in the butterfly world. For 1 hour 15 minutes you will learn about butterfly diversity in Ontario, basic identification skills, threats to butterflies and their conservation, as well as action items for you to make a positive impact on butterfly populations in your area. 

You will also learn about how EBC supports these important pollinators and how you can get involved with our organization.

Sign up here!

We hope you enjoy the resources provided here - Happy Learning!

Warm regards,
EBC team

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