Warren will also discuss ways to grow native milkweeds, monarchs’ sole larval food source, and nectar-rich plant species for adult butterflies. Free samples of locally native milkweed seeds will be available.
At 1:00 p.m. Cradle of Forestry interpreter Devin Gentry will present a program “Why Are We Letting the Grass Grow?” addressing a continuing project to convert selected lawn areas around the Cradle’s Forest Discovery Center to native landscaping. This effort to sustain the interdependence between plants and pollinators, including monarchs, can be duplicated by homeowners.
“Make Way for Monarchs” is part of a national spring tour of speakers providing monarch education programs around the 50th anniversary of the death of Rachel Carson (1907-1964). It was Carson’s landmark work, Silent Spring, which first alerted the public to the dangers associated with the widespread use of chemical pesticides. Monarchs’ summer breeding habitat has been diminished or lost due to untargeted or excessive herbicide use combined with other factors. The loss of overwintering habitat in Mexico has also affected populations.
With Dr. Gary Paul Nabhan, Ina is co-facilitator of a new initiative, “Make Way for Monarchs : A Milkweed-Butterfly Recovery Alliance” which brings scientists, farmers, naturalists, writers, artists and other change makers to the monarch conservation table. The public is invited to read the extensive articles uploaded to the new website at http://makewayformonarchs.org/i/ .
Following the monarch program, the one-hour documentary on Rachel Carson’s life, “A Sense of Wonder” will be shown for those interested, courtesy of the N.C. Bartram Trail Society. More info on this DVD is available at: http://www.pbs.org/asenseofwonder/
The Cradle of Forestry is open daily from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Admission is $5.00 for adults, free for youth under age 16. Golden Age and America the Beautiful passes are honored. The Cradle is located in the Pisgah National Forest near Brevard, on US Highway 276, 6 miles north of Looking Glass Falls and 4 miles south of the Blue Ridge Parkway. www.cradleofforestry.com for information about the Cradle of Forestry in America.
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