Naperville Park District to hold Monarch Festival

With monarch butterflies in the news lately and grass-roots efforts to save them on the rise, Naperville Park District is trying to do its part.

The district will sponsor its inaugural Monarch Festival from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 17, at the Knoch Knolls Nature Center at Knoch Knolls Park, 320 Knoch Knolls Road, where the district has planted a Monarch Waystation.

A free event described as a "Pollinator Extravaganza," the festival will include educational games, crafts and storytelling for children, a presentation on native plants by Jim Kleinwachter of The Conservation Foundation, and an opportunity to meet two local beekeepers, Marge Trocki and Charlie Linnell.

The decline of the monarch butterfly has been attributed to environmental factors such as climate change and loss of habitat.

The park district approved a Monarch Resolution in 2016, affirming its ongoing efforts to restore habitat for monarchs and other pollinators and its educational activities designed to tell the monarch's story and inspire others to get involved.

At the district's Monarch Festival, folks of all ages are invited to learn more about the monarch and other pollinators that live in our area. Guests will receive free milkweed seeds that can be planted this fall, learn about how to plant other nectar plants that attract pollinators, and watch monarchs being tagged for scientific study.

Conservation and gardening organizations planning to attend the event include The Morton Arboretum, the Forest Preserve District of DuPage County, The Conservation Foundation, DuPage Monarch Project, the University of Illinois Extension Office and Master Gardeners, and the event sponsor, The Growing Place.

The park district's 2017 food truck vendors also have been invited to be on site so guests can purchase snacks, beverages and treats.

"I'm looking forward to sharing information about pollinators with our visitors in a fun, yet educational setting," said Angelique Harshman, Nature Center manager. "The amazing transformation of a caterpillar to a butterfly isn't something that many people ever see, so we're excited to share this process and the incredible migration monarchs make each fall and spring."

In 2016 and again in 2017, Harshman raised monarch butterflies at Knoch Knolls Nature Center, involving staff and summer campers in observing and caring for them. At the Monarch Festival they will demonstrate tagging the butterflies prior to their migration to Mexico.

Volunteers ages 16 to adult are needed to help at the Monarch Festival with parking, set up, clean up and more. Interested volunteers may check www.napervilleparks.org/volunteer-with-the-naperville-park-district for more information and to register as a volunteer. A volunteer training session will be held from 7 to 8 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 14.