NEWBURYPORT — On Wednesday, September 21, Kattie Banks Hone, known as the Monarch Gardener, will be speaking about monarch butterflies from noon to 1:00 PM at the Newburyport Senior Center. Come and learn about the monarch butterfly – its natural history, migration, the reason for its decline and the many conservation efforts that are currently underway along its migration pathway. Recently classified as an endangered species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature, homeowners are perfectly positioned to help them. Katie will explain an entire season of blooms that you can plant in your own yard to help monarchs and other pollinators.
At the end of the lecture, if conditions are right, Katie is planning a butterfly release during which she will tag the monarch’s with stickers so their migration can be traced.
Katie was a 2012 recipient of the US Fish and Wildlife Service’s Slow Flow Grant. This helped her transform her family’s river front property from the traditional foundation plantings they inherited from the former owners into a wildlife haven, while also minimizing storm runoff into the river. When she added native milkweeds to the gardens she found monarch butterfly eggs on it and began raising them with her young children. This spawned her love of monarchs and pollinator gardens.
Now Katie brings her knowledge of monarch butterflies and pollinator gardens to schools, garden clubs and community groups and encourages landowner and municipalities to plant milkweed and native plants. This is the first time she is speaking in Newburyport so don’t miss it.
The talk is free, open to the public, and a complimentary box lunch is available courtesy of the Friends of the Council on Aging and the Greater Newburyport Village. Call the Senior Center at 978-462-0430 to reserve your lunch. Village Talks are offered by the Greater Newburyport Village for the enrichment of the community; they occur every third Wednesday of the month.
For more information about Village Talks, check the event calendar at www.greaternewburyportvillage.org, email info@greaternewburyportvillage.org, or call 978 206-1821.
