Volunteers have been monitoring for the Monarch Larva Monitoring Project at the Bright Hope Butterfly Garden at Pocahontas State Park in Chesterfield, Virginia, for 11 years! They call themselves the Bright Hope Butterfly Garden Crew.
The garden is a 2000-square-foot certified Monarch Waystation with one large central garden area surrounded by two smaller garden areas. The garden also contains a large pollinator hotel and several benches built by Eagle Scouts for visitors to relax and enjoy the plants and pollinators.
The garden was created by several members of the Pocahontas Chapter of the Virginia Master Naturalists with two species of locally native milkweed, including over 400 plants of common milkweed (Asclepias syriaca) as well as butterfly milkweed (Asclepias tuberosa). The garden also contains a plethora of native nectar plants, including various species of asters and goldenrods, passionflower, mountain mint, penstemon, crown beard, cutleaf coneflower, spiderwort, beebalm, coreopsis, dogbane, dogfennel, grasses, ironweed, elephant's foot, obedient plant, false indigo, bluestar amsonia, wild ageratum, anise hyssop, and more.
The Garden Crew started monitoring for MLMP because they were looking for a way to conduct community science and monarch conservation in the beloved garden at the state park. Monitoring is done each week with an average of six people, but there are also many transient volunteers due to the variety of activities going on at the garden and special events at the park. There is a role for everyone, and the Garden Crew feels very lucky to have such a long list of volunteers.
The garden also sees a lot of visitors, being in a state park that gets at least a million visitors a year. Even though the Butterfly Garden is found in a less-frequented area of the park, it doesn’t stop people from stumbling upon it when walking their dog, riding their horse, or hiking. Visitors often stop to take photos, enjoy the beauty and seasonal changes, and learn about the importance of the native plants and pollinators that call the garden home. Visitors are always very excited to get a short educational lesson about the MLMP and the many plants and animals found in the garden. The garden also gets visitors from other groups such as the park’s native garden group, Friends of Pocahontas State Park, Virginia Master Gardeners, and Virginia Master Naturalists.
The Bright Hope Butterfly Garden has provided the Garden Crew with endless knowledge of the monarch butterfly life cycle and the resources monarchs need to thrive. One of the more interesting things learned over years of monitoring is that there are similar patterns occurring in the Butterfly Garden and other gardens in the central and eastern United States. For example, when there is a regional early spring egg depositing event or overwintering numbers are concerningly low, these activities are also observed by the Garden Crew.
Over the years, the crew has also observed that almost none of their spring eggs mature into butterflies as early eggs and instars are likely eaten by predators, and that the most successful monarchs eclose in the late summer into fall. The crew believes even when they haven’t seen a monarch in weeks or months, it is vital to keep monitoring because this data is used by scientists to determine population numbers each year. Monitoring for over 10 years has taught the crew that monarch populations fluctuate, but all data is helpful. Another notable observation was that monarchs preferred to form chrysalises on dense nearby plants like dog fennel and large grasses. The crew has also made several interesting non-monarch observations, like seeing higher numbers of mantises and green lynx spiders in certain years, and members have become quite the aficionados of the milkweed insect community.
One amazing thing to highlight is that volunteers and friends of the Bright Hope Butterfly Garden even collaborated on a book about their efforts titled ‘Insights from a Butterfly Waystation: The Insects, Plants and the People Who Tend to Them.’ The book includes information and photos of plants and insects found in the Bright Hope Butterfly Garden, as well as interviews with friends and volunteers who have been influenced by butterfly conservation. Proceeds of the book are used to fund the garden’s needs, including the addition of more native plants for monarchs!
The Bright Hope Butterfly Garden Crew is thrilled to have found a group of like-minded people who meet each week to experience the great outdoors and connect with one another. The Bright Hope Butterfly Garden is a tranquil place to rejuvenate and experience the wonders of nature together.
While the crew’s cast has changed over time and there are many supporting volunteers, Jennifer Ambs is the leader, and has been with the crew for all 11 years, accompanied by Karen Bourgeois, Joshquinn Andrews, Mary Camp, Eric Grey, Alice Warner, and Pam Camplin. There are also important longtime volunteers, including Vicky Olson, Jeannie Grandstaff, Kim Moore, Holly McKay, and Amanda Lentz-Ronnig. All volunteers are vital to the Bright Hope Butterfly Garden Crew’s mission!
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