Monarch Watch garden

The University of Kansas is doing their part to help monarchs.  Besides the research that Chip Taylor and his staff do, they also offer a "Monarch Watch" certification for individuals, schools and other groups.  To become certified, you need to have planted a number of milkweed and nectar plants preferred by monarchs in your garden. (The garden can be fairly small.)
 Go to their website for more information: http://www.monarchwatch.org/waystations/

Our elementary school at Guthrie Center became "Monarch Watch" certified this summer, by taking an existing rain garden, planting a couple different kinds of milkweed and adding a few annuals and perennials.  Here is conservation team member, Allison, talking to a student in front of our garden this fall:

First blog post

I've started this blog to share my passion for monarchs.  They are dangerously close to being put on the endangered species list, so their amazing migration to Mexico is in jeopardy.   The number of monarchs overwintering has dropped 95 percent since 1995.  Along with many other people I am doing what I can to increase their numbers.  Here I am at Neal Smith National Wildlife Refuge: