Last week I visited the Flood Brook Elementary School in Londonderry, VT. The whole school turned out to hear about monarchs and learn what the students can do to help save them from extinction.Save the Monarchs Tour
In 2016 we sponsored our first Save the Monarchs tour. We brought expert, Jose Luis Alvarez up from Mexico to discuss the threats monarchs face today. We presented at the Boston Museum of Science, Harvard, Yale, ECHO, Audubon Greenwich, Massachusetts Horticultural Society and the Philadelphia Zoo. Now we keep the tour going at Vermont schools and garden clubs-- helping them create monarch habitat.
These students are planting pollinator gardens at Flood Brook School. Native nectar flowers and common milkweed are in demand and donations are welcome.Flood Brook Elementary School
When I met the kids at Flood Brook School I was surprised at how enthusiastic they were! They knew all about the lifecycle of the monarch and monarch migration. I brought milkweed seedlings for them to plant in their pollinator gardens. They're going to be great stewards of the species. Photo courtesy of Martin Langeveld.Thanks to the Londonderry Conservation Commission
Steve Swinburne, of the Londonderry Conservation Commission got this project going and we are grateful for his support. As a thank you for the presentation, the Londonderry Conservation Commission made a generous contribution to my favorite environmental charity, Forests for Monarchs. FFM is a small group of passionate environmentalists who are planting trees in the monarch's winter habitat in Mexico. I volunteer as their Vice President. FFM has planted over 6 million trees to replenish deforested areas of the monarch's over-wintering grounds.
Why Does a Furniture Company Care About Monarchs?
Ken and I founded Vermont Woods Studios to promote forest conservation in the furniture industry. As woodworkers, we wanted to raise awareness about where your furniture comes from. Conventional furniture is often made of wood that's illegally clear cut from the world's rapidly disappearing forests, such as the one in Mexico where Monarch Butterflies spend their winters. We work to provide an alternative: furniture that's handmade in Vermont of local, sustainably harvested wood.
