Planting for butterflies

On November 6, a group of volunteers joined Kootenay Native Plant Society (KNPS) to put almost 150 plants in the ground to support monarch butterflies.

KNPS spent a couple of days preparing the area with brush cutting and sod removal before filling it with native milkweed, goldenrod, and asters – key ingredients for a monarch waystation.

The collaborative planting event was in partnership with the City of Nelson, which recently performed a prescribed burn for its FireSmart program. The City wanted to plant wildflowers in the burn spot, nestled between Highway 6 and Vancouver Street, and reached out to KNPS.

“Incorporating wildflowers is a bit more complex than just putting seeds down,” said Emily Parsons, Outreach Coordinator for KNPS. “So we proposed one of our projects – Milkweed for Monarchs.”

Due to habitat loss and climate change, monarch populations are facing significant decline, said Parsons. The initiative aims to restore and protect milkweed, an important host plant for the iconic insect. One way of doing so is waystations.

“A monarch waystation is a point on the monarch migration path where they can stop to refuel with nectar sources or lay eggs on milkweed,” said Parsons.

Milkweed is crucial to monarchs. It’s the only plant adults will lay eggs on, and the only plant caterpillars will eat. Though a toxin in milkweed makes it poisonous to other animals, monarchs are unaffected. In fact, they store the toxin in their bodies, making them unpalatable and giving them their bright colours as a warning to predators.

KNPS sourced showy milkweed – the only milkweed native to the region – from KinSeed Ecologies, a local native plant nursery. It also sourced late flowering Western Canada goldenrod, McCalls asters, and tufted white prairie asters. The plants are two years old and will require about two more years of care to become established, said Parsons. In that time, the City of Nelson will register the waystation on monarchwatch.org, and monitor for evidence of the butterflies – eggs or recognizable caterpillar bite marks on the leaves.

Parsons said the monarchs found in the region are part of a distinct western population which only migrates to the California coast, unlike their eastern counterparts that overwinter in Mexico. The Lower Columbia is about as far north as they go – for now.

“This is, at the moment, the northern reach of their migratory path, but with climate change that’s probably going to change,” said Parsons. “That’s why we’re trying to get more milkweed out on the landscape, and also protect wild milkweed populations.”

Being in the northern reaches of their range, Parsons said they only see monarchs in the area every two or three years. But as the effects of climate change unfold – and with more milkweed on the landscape – the butterflies could become more frequent fliers to the area.

Milkweed for Monarchs is still in the pilot stage, said Parsons, but next year they hope it will be in full force. With enough sponsorship, KNPS would like to collaborate with communities, providing plants and the education required to take care of them.

“Our slogan is ‘Connecting people, plants, and place,’'” said Parsons. “We’re trying to not only increase native plant populations, but also spread the word about their importance to pollinators.”

Formed in 2012, KNPS has done extensive research into what plants pollinators love most, compiling a list of “pollinator magnets.” Other initiatives include the Kootenay Camas Project, a wildflower seed library, and workshops and education programs. It has also partnered with BC Parks to bring a waystation to Beaver Creek Provincial Park, and a butterfly habitat learning garden to Syringa Provincial Park.

Parsons said there about five other waystations in the region, with one more to come before the snow flies. KNPS will work with students in Winlaw to bring a waystation to the Whole School.

Visit monarchwatch.org for more information about monarchs, or to register a milkweed population or waystation. Registering means agreeing to monitoring the site.