Supporting Monarch Butterfly Populations

Outputs 

• One large pollinator garden with 68 native plants including milkweed.

• Certifications from the National Wildlife Federation and North American Butterfly Association.

Outcomes 

• As a result of our large pollinator garden, the populations of native plants, pollinators, and monarch butterflies will increase and awareness will grow.

• Our certifications from the National Wildlife Federation and North American Butterfly Association demonstrate that our garden meets the needs of pollinators throughout all stages of their life cycles, has enough resources to increase monarch butterfly population, and provides food, water, cover, and places for them to raise their young.

Process

1. We located a spot on the Old Croton Aqueduct for our garden.

2.  We contacted Steven Oakes, Historic Site Manager, Old Croton Aqueduct State Historic Park, who provided us with information about our location on the aqueduct and guidelines for creating the garden.

3. We met with Joanna Riesman, a member of the Friends of Old Croton Aqueduct, who permitted us to create the garden on the OCA adjacent to her property.  

4. We applied for a permit to create the garden on the OCA, which was approved by Steven Oakes.

5. We consulted Pinar O'Flaherty of the Hastings Pollinator Pathway at the future garden site. We were educated by Ms. O’Flaherty on the plants that were currently there. She suggested a number of native plants that would thrive in that location, provided guidance on the steps to create the garden, multiple resources for native plants, and where to buy them.

6. We bought garden supplies, including gloves, shovels, leaf bags, wood chips, and plant saucers for butterfly puddlers.

7. We weeded the garden, filling 16 leaf bags.

8. We covered the ground with wet cardboard and then spread woodchips over the cardboard to impede the regrowth of weeds.

9. During their Native Plant Sale Weekend, we drove to Rosedale Nurseries to buy plants. There, we met Carol Capobianco, Director of The Native Plant Center at Westchester Community College, who helped us pick out plants for the garden.

10. We plotted the garden and planted our plants.

11. We arranged a garden watering schedule to regularly water the plants until they became established.

12. We added more wood chips and butterfly puddlers (dishes with a mix of moist dirt and sand, which serve as a water source for butterflies).

13. We added additional plants.

14. We obtained certifications from the National Wildlife Foundation and North American Butterfly Association.

15. We will continue stewardship of the garden with periodic weeding and maintenance.

Lessons Learned

• How to prepare, maintain, and care for a garden

• We learned about the native plants monarch butterflies and other pollinators need, plus what their caterpillars need

• How to get a permit and work with New York State to facilitate a project on state property

• We learned the value of friends and family connections

Students Involved

• 2 Project leaders aged 15-24

• 11 Total project participants (excluding leaders)

• 1 Project participant aged 15-24 (excluding leaders)

Weeding the garden; laying down soaked cardboard and mulch

Thank You's

Bloomberg Philanthropies

Mayor Nicola Armacost

Steven Oakes, Historic Site Manager, Old Croton Aqueduct State Historic Park

Joanna Riesman 

Pinar O’Flaherty 

Carol Capobianco, Director of The Native Plant Center at Westchester Community College

All the volunteers who helped prepare, plant, and water the garden