The hatching of the DuPage Monarch Project

Photo by Joe Lecroy

In the spring of 2015, a group of students at Ben Franklin elementary school in Glen Ellyn set out to help monarchs and the ripples from their efforts are spreading throughout DuPage county.

The students, engaged in a lesson in Problem Based Learning, decided to find out more about the declining monarch butterfly population.  They learned the population decrease was due in part to a loss of milkweed in their breeding territory, which includes Illinois.  The identified solution was planting more milkweed.

The students approached the Glen Ellyn Environmental Commission with their suggested solution and a civic coalition was formed to take action by educating the public about monarchs and increasing the amount of milkweed available in Glen Ellyn.

The DuPage Monarch Project (DMP), a coalition of the Sierra Club’s River Prairie Group, Greater DuPage Wild Ones and The Conservation Foundation, is building on this model and taking it to communities throughout DuPage County.

In 2016, DMP will continue to spread the word about the plight of monarchs by hosting a program on monarchs and pollinators Feb. 23, 7:00 pm at the Glen Ellyn Library.  There are plans to offer free milkweed plants in the spring.  The third goal is to expand the number of villages and cities working on monarch conservation by asking six to eight DuPage municipalities to join the effort by passing a resolution to make their community more monarch friendly.

Stay informed about local monarch initiatives by liking DuPage Monarch Project on facebook.  To become involved in your community, email Lonnie Morris at herbndove@comcast.net

- Lonnie Morris