Port Washington Monarch Butterfly Alliance Community Workshops provide participants with free local plants, caterpillars, equipment, storybooks, and the training needed to raise monarch butterflies indoors in their homes and classrooms. Participants receive plants to create their own gardens that will host monarchs and other pollinators. The Workshops turn the practice of raising Monarch Butterflies into a learning experience for adults and children, who get to know these beautiful creatures intimately over the course of several weeks. Participants are introduced to the surprising plants and animals associated with Monarchs as the Monarchs go through their brief reproductive life cycle in Port Washington along their migratory route from Mexico and back each year. Questions about the Monarch Butterfly that are still unanswered by science arise through the process of raising caterpillars to chrysalises to adults, stimulating curiosity and bringing forth the mystery of the natural world. By releasing monarch butterflies into the world to join their migration and by planting seeds, participants will be supporting the growth and health of this imperiled species.

Our goals are to make the entire community of PW a butterfly sanctuary, to re-wild our area to promote biodiversity, and to make experiences of nature more accessible to the community. We will be hosting additional Monarch workshops for the general community, workshops for teachers, and planting events in public parks and other habitats throughout the year.

Our next Community Workshop is tentatively on June 2nd, at Clark Botanical Garden, from 12:00 - 2:00pm. We will also be hosting workshops in July, August, and September 2018. More information soon. You can also join our bulletin list to receive news about upcoming workshops.