Press release from Hendersonville Bee City USA:
Mid-September through early October is the best time to watch for migrating monarch butterflies in our area. To celebrate this wondrous natural phenomenon, several educational programs are being hosted. Estela Romero, international monarch expert and educator from the town of Angangueo in Michoacán, Mexico, will be visiting classrooms as well as speaking at four community events open to the public.
Hendersonville Bee City USA and Asheville Bee City USA have partnered with local certified Bee Campus USA education institutions, schools, gardens, and other organizations to offer this series of monarch programs during the peak migration season. For complete details, please visit https://www.hendersonvillenc.gov/monarchs.
A Monarch’s Journey: From NC to Mexico and Back
Monday, September 24, 4:30 – 6 PM
Presented by: Bullington Gardens, Hendersonville Bee City USA, and Asheville Bee City USAKim Bailey, local educator and farmer/owner of Milkweed Meadows Farm in Fruitland, NC, and Estela Romero, monarch educator and journalist who works in the overwintering sanctuaries near her home in Angangueo, Michoacán, will present up-close and personal views of the monarch’s remarkable life cycle and epic migration. Kim and Estela will share their knowledge of these winged wonders on the journey from Mexico to NC and back again.
Audience: All ages.
Location: Bullington Gardens, 95 Upper Red Oak Trail, Hendersonville
Cost: $15
Registration: Call 828-698-6104 to register or register online at https://bullingtongardens.org/a-monarchs-journey-from-nc-to-mexico-and-back/Flight of the Butterflies: Movie Screening and Discussion
Thursday, September 27, 6:30 PM (doors open at 6)
Presented by: Blue Ridge Community College, MountainTrue, Conserving Carolina, Hendersonville Bee City USA, and Asheville Bee City USACelebrate the local migration of monarchs with this special screening of the documentary film Flight of the Butterflies (http://www.flightofthebutterflies.com/trailers/) (English audio/Spanish subtitles). This awe-inspiring film tells the story of extraordinary insect endurance and human perseverance. Viewers learn about the remarkable annual life cycle and migration of the monarch butterflies as well as the determined Canadian scientist Dr. Fred Urquhart who spent 40 years studying the mystery of where monarch butterflies go when they disappear each fall. Described as a natural history epic and a compelling detective story, this documented scientific adventure spans thousands of miles and several generations. The award-winning production team filmed hundreds of millions of overwintering monarchs in their remote sanctuaries in Mexico and followed their migratory routes from Canada across the U.S. and into Mexico.
Following the screening, Estela Romero, international monarch expert and educator, will discuss the film and answer questions about her home near the monarch’s overwintering sanctuaries in the mountains of Mexico. Estela will share her family’s memories of experiences with monarchs prior to their “discovery” and subsequent revelation to the world in 1976.
In addition, local organizations will provide handouts and more information at their exhibit tables. Bee City USA/Bee Campus USA, MountainTrue, and Conserving Carolina will be represented. Conserving Carolina will give a free native milkweed plant (limit one per household) to the first 50 attendees to stop by.
Audience: All ages
Location: Blue Ridge Community College, Thomas Auditorium, 130 Eagles Reach Drive, Flat Rock
Cost: Free
Registration: None requiredSymbolic Monarch Migration to Mexico
Tuesday, September 25 through Saturday, September 29, 10 AM – 5 PM
Presented by: Hands-On! Children’s Museum and Hendersonville Bee City USAVisitors to Hands-On! Children’s Museum can send a monarch to Mexico by participating in the 23rd annual Symbolic Monarch Butterfly Migration event (https://journeynorth.org/symbolic-migration). During this time, over 60,000 children from across the United States and Canada will create paper butterflies, which Estela Romero will deliver to school children in the monarch sanctuary region in Mexico. The symbolic “flight” of these butterflies is timed to correspond with the living monarchs’ journey south for the winter.
Next March, after the real monarchs have departed from Mexico, paper butterflies will be sent to Hands-On! Children’s Museum, carrying special messages from the Mexican students. United by celebrating the flight of monarch butterflies, children across North America learn lessons of conservation, cooperation, and ambassadorship.
Audience: Children of all ages
Location: Hands-On! Children’s Museum, 318 N. Main Street, Hendersonville
Cost: Admission to Hands On! ($5 + tax each, for children and for adults. Free for members and for children under one year old.)
Registration: None requiredMonarch Conservation Mini-Symposium
Saturday, September 22, 9 AM – 1:30 PM
Presented by: The North Carolina Arboretum, Hendersonville Bee City USA, and Asheville Bee City USAEnvironmental leaders from The North Carolina Arboretum and Bee City USA will join international monarch butterfly expert Estela Romero and cutting-edge monarch population researchers Dr. Nickolay Hristov and Dr. Louise Allen for this exciting monarch conservation mini-symposium. Attendees will learn about monarch butterflies, their habitats and migration patterns, as well as the latest research and methods of conserving these beautiful and essential pollinators. Following the symposium, participants will be invited to explore the Blue Ridge Parkway in search of monarchs along their migration route to Mexico.
Audience: Adults. This in-depth program with be of special interest to nature buffs, butterfly enthusiasts, wildlife conservationists, citizen scientists, pollinator gardeners, master naturalists, native plant devotees, etc. as well as teachers and youth leaders who wish to learn more about projects to help monarchs.
Location: The North Carolina Arboretum Education Center, 100 Frederick Law Olmsted Way, Asheville
Cost: $35 for Arboretum Society members and $40 for non-members. Lunch and parking are included with registration.
Registration: Space is limited so pre-registration is required. Register online at https://www.ncarboretum.org/event/monarch-conservation-mini-symposium/Flight of the Butterflies Movie Screening
Saturday, September 22, 6 PM – 8:30 PM
Presented by: The North Carolina Arboretum, Hendersonville Bee City USA, and Asheville Bee City USACelebrate the local migration of monarchs with this special screening of the documentary film Flight of the Butterflies (http://www.flightofthebutterflies.com/trailers/) (English audio/Spanish subtitles). This awe-inspiring film tells the story of extraordinary insect endurance and human perseverance. Viewers learn about the remarkable annual life cycle and migration of the monarch butterflies as well as the determined Canadian scientist Dr. Fred Urquhart who spent 40 years studying the mystery of where monarch butterflies go when they disappear each fall. Described as a natural history epic and a compelling detective story, this documented scientific adventure spans thousands of miles and several generations. The award-winning production team filmed hundreds of millions of overwintering monarchs in their remote sanctuaries in Mexico and followed their migratory routes from Canada across the U.S. and into Mexico.
Following the screening, Estela Romero, international monarch expert and educator, will discuss the film and answer questions about her home near the monarch’s overwintering sanctuaries in the mountains of Mexico. Estela will share her family’s memories of experiences with monarchs prior to their “discovery” and subsequent revelation to the world in 1976.
Audience: All ages
Location: The North Carolina Arboretum, Education Center, 100 Frederick Law Olmsted Way, Asheville
Cost: Free, however standard Arboretum parking fees apply ($14 per personal vehicle). Parking is free for Arboretum Society members. Parking fees will be waived for participants who attended the Monarch Conservation Mini-Symposium earlier in the day.
Registration: Pre-registration is required. Register online at https://www.ncarboretum.org/event/flight-of-the-butterflies-screening-and-qa/
Before you comment
The comments section is here to provide a platform for civil dialogue on the issues we face together as a local community. Xpress is committed to offering this platform for all voices, but when the tone of the discussion gets nasty or strays off topic, we believe many people choose not to participate. Xpress editors are determined to moderate comments to ensure a constructive interchange is maintained. All comments judged not to be in keeping with the spirit of civil discourse will be removed and repeat violators will be banned. See here for our terms of service. Thank you for being part of this effort to promote respectful discussion.