Moorestown FEP Hosts Second Monarch Butterfly Workshop

MOORESTOWN, NJ — On a recent cloudy Sunday afternoon, 25 people aged 6 and up attended the monarch butterfly workshop hosted by FEP, the Friends Enrichment Program, in the Moorestown Friends Meetinghouse. For the second consecutive year, the workshop leaders were Marlton residents and monarch butterfly enthusiasts Candy and Glenn Curtis and their teenage son, Sean, a high school senior.

What the Curtises brought to Moorestown was a hands-on, informative and inspiring program with live eggs and caterpillars, as well as with chrysalises and newborn butterflies that could be observed through the see-through walls of a large portable enclosure.

Sean and his father handed caterpillars and butterflies to participants. Soon, some of the children were walking around, enthralled, butterflies or caterpillars fastened to their hands or fingers or even an ear.

Sean was a little boy when he became fascinated with monarchs after he and his parents attended a monarch butterfly workshop at the Vincentown Pollination Station. His interest in their welfare was so intense that his supportive parents endeavored to create a monarch butterfly habitat in their yard.

“We started about 10 years ago with a single milkweed plant,” said Glenn, holding up a milkweed stem.

He noted that, for successful reproduction, monarchs must deposit their eggs on milkweed leaves, these being the only food their caterpillars need. Initially, the new plant was entrusted in the care of Glenn’s father, Ken Curtis of Mt. Holly, a man with a green thumb. Today, there are about 100 descendants of that first milkweed plant and the Curtises’s yard is a thriving monarch butterfly habitat during the summer months.

When the time came for the butterflies to leave, it had begun to rain. Undeterred, these youngsters spread their wings and flew off, most of them taking shelter under the nearest tree. With luck on their side, they will stick around for a while. As they feed on nectar from flowers of the gardens and fields, they will do their job as pollinators.

In the fall, they will join other monarchs and begin their long, perilous journey southward to the distant oyamel forests of Mexico where they will spend the winter months. Many will die before they reach their destination.

Monarch butterflies are an at-risk species. Over the past two decades, they have declined by more than 20%, owing in part to excessive use of pesticides and loss of habitats. Whether they will survive in an increasingly hostile environment may depend in part on how committed we are to their survival. Individual efforts to help them can be a big deal, and sometimes, even a small child may lead the way.

FEP reaches out to financially disadvantaged Moorestown children with a message of love and inclusion. It offers them scholarships to attend summer camp, take music lesson or enroll in art classes, sports clinics, or other life-enhancing activities at no cost to their parents. For more information, call Monique Begg at 856-235-3963.

This story was submitted by Monique Begg. Photo Credit: Daniel Begg