TORONTO- Every year the monarch butterflies of Toronto migrate south to Mexico and the Toronto Botanical Gardens has a program called Monarchs on the Move to teach kids about the butterflies.
“through the program they’ll (kids) learn the entire life cycle of the monarch and the importance of protecting the monarchs within our home gardens,” Paul Zammit, the director of horticulture at the gardens said. He said reports suggest the number of monarch butterflies is declining but there are ways to help them.
Zammit said to help support the migration process it is important for homeowners to plant late summer and fall blooming plants in their gardens, in containers, or on balconies or patios.
“It’s really important to have late flowering plants such as eupatorium, liatris, coneflowers cause these provide important sources of nectar for the adult monarchs to feed on,” he said.
Planting butterfly weed and asclepias are important to support the larvae, but the adults need food too.
“We often think of gardens just for their beauty, but what about the value? What about what your garden can do? So it looks good for you but also helps to support the wildlife and in this case monarchs and the bees”
Andrea Szego had her two children, Emmett and Eve, at the gardens participating in the Monarchs on the Move program.
“They’re starting to ask questions that I don’t actually know the answers to. So it’s good to come to an expert and learn a few things myself along the way and share in that fun and that passion with them.”
Emmett said he likes nature because, “it can help the environment.” He’s the one in charge of the family’s front garden and likes to make sure the butterflies come. He said when he sees a butterfly, “it makes me remember that they help make plants grow.”
His little sister Eve said she loves butterflies, “cause they’re pretty.”
The children learn what types of plants they need to have in their gardens to support the monarchs as well as they learn about their entire life cycle. The program is hands on, having children planting flowers, watering gardens and even releasing some butterflies into the air.
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