California’s monarch butterflies are fast disappearing. According to a recent LA
Times article, millions of monarch butterflies used to over-winter in California in the 1980s. By 2018 and 2019, only about 30,000 monarchs were counted—less than one percent of the population’s historical size. Last November, volunteers counted only 2,000.
Concerned residents and groups have started doing everything they can through grassroots efforts to try to save the western monarchs. As part of this effort, the nonprofit Santa Monica Mountains Fund (SAMO) is offering a free online event on Saturday, June 5, from 9 a.m. – 2 p.m. featuring nine different classes given by experts in their fields. Most classes are 30-40 minutes long, with a 30-minute lunch break and some breaks between classes.
For the complete agenda with times, more details about the presenters and talks, and to register, go to: southerncaliforniamonarch.org or bit.ly/milkweedmonarch. The conference is open to all.
Topics of the talks will include: all about monarchs, the status of western monarch populations, the three Santa Monica Mountains species of wild milkweed, monarch habitat restoration, creating a sustainable backyard nursery, using native milkweed in a low-water garden, early and late blooming pollinator plants for emerging and returning monarchs, and getting involved in the community.
The conference is sponsored by Malibu Foundation, Metabolic Studio and Artemisia Nursery.