The Monarch Sanctuary By: Sam Baker Email: samueljbaker@lewisu.edu MAILBOX #: 2205
Page 1 Table of Contents Introduction... 2 Plan... 2-4 Conclusion... 5 References... 6-7
Page 2 Introduction The world has changed greatly in the last ten years, in 1996 Monarch Butterflies colonies occupied an average of 18.19 hectares in Mexico, today they only occupy 1.13 hectares. That is a decrease of over 90% in the Monarch s population in less than ten years, actions must be taken in order to preserve and restore the Monarch population before it is too late. Monarch Butterflies are crucial to the environment because they are an indicator species whose population reflects the health of forests and pollinators in the area. In addition to being a key indicator species the Monarch Butterfly is our state butterfly, which makes us responsible for their well-being. Lewis University can become part of a movement to help restore the Monarch s population by creating a small sanctuary for Monarch Butterflies. The sanctuary would be a small area with milkweed plants for the Monarchs to rest and lay their eggs during their long migration. This sanctuary would be in two locations, along the east wall of the AS building and along the east wall of the Philip Lynch Theatre (A picture depicting the exact locations of the sanctuary is shown below under the Plan section.). If this Monarch sanctuary is created it will not only improve the Monarch s population, it will also improve the aesthetics around the campus with an increase in the number of Monarchs roaming the campus grounds. The increased Monarch population will encourage students to spend more time outdoors and enjoying the beauty of nature. We must take action to save the Monarchs before it is too late. Plan To implement this Monarch Sanctuary several key pieces of information must be known such as: where this sanctuary will be located, what species of plants will be used, and how much this will cost to implement. The location to start with is represented in the figure below where the red and green
Page 3 highlighted areas represent the ideal location to plant the milkweed. These locations were chosen not only because they will provide ample sunlight to the plants, but because the plants will also brighten up the area with their wide range of colors increasing the aesthetics of the area. The figure above also specifies which species of milkweed will be planted in each location, this was determined after heavy consideration of the flora around the area. Butterfly Milkweed will stand out more by the Philip Lynch theatre because of the species short height of about three feet. This will allow the species to compliment the flora towards the main entrance of the theatre with its bright orange flowers and similar heights. Over by the AS building Common Milkweed and Poke Milkweed will be planted along the south wall, both species grow to a similar height between three to six feet. Planting these species on the east side of the AS building will allow them to compete with the trees that grow around the perimeter. The bright purple and white flowers that these plant yield will also contribute to brightening up the area as well. Planting new species of plants in a region comes with an abundance of risks, from whether they will be invasive to what other species they may attract. According to the Monarch Joint Ventures
Page 4 pamphlet these species of milkweed are native in this region and do not present a threat of becoming an invasive species. A soil survey of the areas mentioned above revealed that the soil texture of both areas are: Silt Loam. While this is not the soil that these plants prefer (which is between clay loam and sandy loam) it is very close and will still allow them to grow. The Butterfly Milkweed does excrete pollen so it has a chance of attracting some bees to the area, however, this should not be an issue. The entrance to the Philip Lynch theatre has several bushes of various flora, the amount of milkweed that will be planted in the area will not attract more bees than the bushes on the other side of the building. There are two big category of materials that are need for this plan to be implemented, the tools and the plants. The tools should not be a problem since all that is need is a shovel for digging a hole for the plants and a wheelbarrow for transporting the plants. Lewis should have both of these items, however, if they do not they would cost a total of $69.87 that is including shipping fees. In regard to purchasing the milkweed, this can be done at Agrecol. They will sell six potted plants of each species (a total of 18 plants) for $107.10 and they will ship it to Lewis for free, these prices add for a total of $176.97. Any leftover money from the project will be put towards maintenance of the milkweed in the future, and expanding this project to other areas around campus. The final part that needs to be considered is how the milkweed will be planted. Since Agrecol only ships plants between May 1 st and September 30 th, they will not be planted until the fall semester due to May 1 st being finals week. This means that the milkweed will be planted around campus during the early fall 2015 semester. Members from the Lewis University s Rotaract division can help plant the milkweed along with other volunteers. There is a possibility that members from the Lewis University s Enactus club will also volunteer as well. The aim for this project is to have all the milkweed planted September 13 th 2015.
Page 5 Conclusion The world today is much different than it was ten years ago. With the ever diminishing population of Monarch Butterflies actions must be taken to prevent the extinction of this key indicator species. This species is part of a small group of pollinators which help plants reproduce, without these species we would not have chocolate, fruit, coffee, and much more! A small change in the population of a single species of pollinators can have a drastic impact on the environment. That is why increasing the Monarch s population is so essential. By increasing the population of Monarch Butterflies they will be able to pollinate more plants due to their increased numbers, this will cause an increase in plant reproduction due to the increase in pollination. Lewis University can help ensure that the Monarch population is allowed to grow and prosper by creating a small sanctuary where their population can recover. This sanctuary will consist of 18 plants from three different species of milkweed and will be placed on the east side of the AS Building and the Philip Lynch Theatre. At a cost of only $200 a beautiful Monarch Sanctuary can be created to help the reinvigorate the Monarch Butterflies population. This will casue an increase in the number of Monarchs around campus, which will also increase the aesthetics of the campus as well. These beautiful species are at risk of becoming extinct, if the proper steps are not taken then a key indicator species will vanish off the face of the Earth. That is why Lewis University needs to fund this project, so that the Monarch Butterflies population can start to recover. Are we just going to sit back and let our state butterfly, a key pollinator, become extinct; or are we going to try and restore their population to what it once was ten years ago?
P a g e 6 References http://www.fws.gov/news/shownews.cfm?id=6f984bbc- D85B- FEE8-4C58EF75037F8B59 The Monarch Butterfly story http://monarchjointventure.org/news- events/news/2015- population- update- and- estimating- the- number- of- overwintering- monarchs - This holds the graph used in the introduction depicting a drop of over 90% in ten years. http://monarchwatch.org/bring- back- the- monarchs/milkweed/milkweed- profiles/asclepias- exaltata/ - This site has information about the Poke Milkweed http://websoilsurvey.nrcs.usda.gov/app/websoilsurvey.aspx http://monarchwatch.org/bring- back- the- monarchs/milkweed/milkweed- profiles/asclepias- verticillata/ - This site has information on the Whorled Milkweed species. http://www.wildflower.org/plants/result.php?id_plant=astu This site has information on the Butterfly Milkweed species. http://www.noble.org/ag/wildlife/burn/ - This site has information on control burns and how much they cost per acre of land. http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/internet/fse_manuscripts/illinois/il197/0/will_il.pdf - Information about the soil in the area, the code 146B and 223C2.
Page 7 http://monarchjointventure.org/images/uploads/documents/milkweedfactsheetfinal.pdf - Types of Milkweed that are native to the Northeastern U.S. http://monarchjointventure.org/images/uploads/documents/wfm_brochure_final.pdf - Good ideas on how to implement the Butterfly sanctuary. http://www.xerces.org/milkweed- seed- finder/ - This site details seed providers of various species of Milkweed. http://monarchjointventure.org/get- involved/create- habitat- for- monarchs/ - What originally gave me the idea for this project and what has guided me along the way. http://www.wildflower.org/plants/result.php?id_plant=asex Information on Poke Milkweed http://www.wildflower.org/plants/result.php?id_plant=assy Information on Common Milkweed http://www.wildflower.org/plants/result.php?id_plant=astu Information on Butterfly Milkweed http://www.agrecol.com/ - Where the milkweed will be purchased from. http://www.acehardware.com/product/index.jsp?productid=3224329&kpid=5095633&kpid=5095633& pla=pla_5095633 Emergency Wheelbarrow $58.43 http://www.walmart.com/ip/16524237?wmlspartner=wlpa&selectedsellerid=0&adid=22222222227009 587225&wl0=&wl1=g&wl2=c&wl3=40873259072&wl4=&wl5=pla&wl6=60819452846&veh=sem Emergency Shovel $11.44