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Learn about butterflies, support Lilleskogen Park butterfly garden
“The Miracle of the Monarch” on Thursday, July 31, will be an evening of education and fundraising.
From 7-9 p.m. at Scandia Community Center, the Friends of Scandia Parks and Trails will focus on this once abundant butterfly that now faces very difficult odds.
Scandia residents and other nature lovers are invited to learn about the life cycle of the monarch, the butterflies’ long annual migration and their special relationship with milkweeds.
“The Incredible Journey of the Butterflies,” a 56-minute Nova episode from 2008, will be shown, followed by a one-hour talk by local monarch expert Janie O’Connor.
The program will include tips for individuals who want to help butterflies in their own gardens.
Light refreshments will be served, and free native plants will be available on a first-come, first-served basis.
Milkweed blooms in a Scandia garden.
A flower garden planned for Lilleskogen Park in Scandia, located east of Oakhill Road and south of Scandia Trail, will provide nectar for birds and insects and a colorful view for human visitors.
Most importantly, it will be a food source for Monarch caterpillars. The only thing these larvae eat is milkweed leaves, and milkweed will be a big part of the garden.
Local nurseries have offered discounted plants and mulch. The Scandia-Marine Lions, Friends of Scandia Parks and Trails and individuals have donated cash. Publishers of the Country Messenger and Forest Lake Times are donating end rolls of newsprint to use as a weed barrier.
To get started this fall, and to have reserves for maintaining the garden and replacing plants and mulch, about $1,700 more is needed.
If enough money is raised, the butterfly garden will be planted this fall. Guests can make donations at the July 31 event, or checks can be mailed to Friends of Scandia Parks and Trails, P.O. Box 251, Scandia, MN 55073.
In addition to cash, volunteers will also be needed. O’Connor said the volunteer list has 24 names now.
Persons interested in donating their time and labor can put their names in the donation basket at the July 31 event.
As Lilleskogen dries out from the abundant rain this year, city workers will move the piled wood chips onto trails. Then a committee will prepare the planting area.
Volunteers will remove rocks, rake and level the land, put down landscape paper and distribute mulch.
In September and October, after the mulch has settled, volunteers will punch holes through the paper and mulch to plant perennials.
Next spring, blooming annuals will be needed to fill in while perennials get established. Volunteers will be needed again to do weeding.
To see the plans for Lilleskogen Park, visit www.ci.scandia.mn.us. For more information, call Janie O’Connor at 651- 481-3152.