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Five Ways to Protect Pollinators at Sky Meadows and at Home
You may have heard the recent news that monarch butterflies were listed as endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. You may have also noticed that bees are facing similar threats to their survival and their numbers have been rapidly declining. These pollinators are crucial to our own lives as they pollinate the plants that provide many of the fruits and vegetables we have come to rely on. Climate change, habitat loss and harm caused by the use of pesticides and insecticides are some of the threats these important pollinators are facing today.
Across Virginia State Parks, we are taking action to protect our pollinators from these threats, and we want to teach you how to help, too. Here are five ways you can have fun learning about pollinators at Sky Meadows State Park, and how you can help protect them.
We are celebrating monarchs on Aug. 12, 2023.
1. Celebrate Monarch Day with us.
After warning bells were sounded for this iconic butterfly, we are celebrating Monarch Day on Saturday, Aug. 12, 2023. The park naturalist and Virginia Master Naturalists will lead you on a hike to collect monarch caterpillars and eggs that will be raised in captivity in our Visitor Center. Raising the young monarchs in this way gives them a leg up for survival through the more vulnerable stages of their metamorphosis.
The program will start with a lecture on Landscaping for Monarch Butterflies by Virginia Master Naturalist Paul Guay. Guay’s expertise will give you the knowledge you need to provide habitat for these imperiled butterflies at home. The guided hike and monarch egg collection will take place directly following the informative lecture.
Come prepared to hike in grassy areas to hunt for milkweed, which are the exclusive food source of monarch caterpillars, and thus the place where mom monarchs lay their eggs.
Learn how to identify milkweed plants and spot the tiny monarch butterfly eggs, which are laid on the underside of the leaves.
2. See the Monarchs Rule! Exhibit in the Visitor Center
After the eggs and caterpillars are collected on Monarch Day, they will be raised in Sky Meadows’ Visitor Center, with the help of park staff and volunteers. By raising monarch caterpillars indoors, we improve their chance of survival to adulthood (butterfly stage) by 80%.
We are proud to be part of an initiative to Save the Monarch and you can be a part of that mission too. Stop by the park Visitor Center from Aug. 13 through Sept. 16, to check out the Monarchs Rule! Exhibit where you can witness their amazing transformation, learn about their life cycle and discover for yourself the inspiring story of their long migration from North America to the mountains of central Mexico. Each year, millions of these butterflies embark upon the longest migration of any known insect species.
Waving “bye” to a monarch butterfly, released after being raised in Sky Meadows’ Visitor Center
To sign up as a park volunteer, and receive training to assist with the daily care of the very hungry monarch caterpillars, email skvolunteer@dcr.virginia.gov.
3. Join us for National Honeybee Day
You can help us celebrate another important and imperiled pollinator, by joining us on National Honeybee Day, which falls on the third Saturday in August, annually. Providing us with delicious honey is just one way that bees feed us. They are also one of the most important pollinators of the fruits and vegetables humans eat.
On the first Saturday of each month, May - September, come to the Sky Meadows State Park Historic Area to learn from bee experts and park partners Beekeepers of the Northern Shenandoah (BONS). You’ll get to watch BONS members perform a honey extraction and learn about the art and science of apiculture (or beekeeping). You’ll also have the chance to support both the BONS and the bees by purchasing local honey from club members.
More pollinators that find habitat in the park include these swallowtail butterflies.
4. Mow less and let it bee
After coming to Sky Meadows for our pollinator-themed programs, you’re sure to have a deeper appreciation for the butterflies and bees, and the role they play in both nature and agriculture.
Virginia State Parks are proud to offer programs to educate the public on the importance of protecting our pollinators and their habitats from further devastation. However, knowledge is just the first step.
You may notice our pollinator plots a.k.a. no-mow zones growing along the park entrance road, picnic area entrance and next to the picnic area restroom parking.
Several years ago, Virginia State Parks adopted an initiative to mow less of the parks’ landscapes. This initiative resulted in savings of time, money, wear and tear on equipment, but more importantly it provided great ecological benefits. Learn more about the no mow initiative here.
The next time you visit the park, you might notice the abundance of flowering native plants at our designated pollinator plots, and the buzzing and fluttering of the pollinators these plants attract. Sky Meadows’ pollinator plots are maintained in partnership with the Virginia Native Plant Society and the Shenandoah Chapter of the Shenandoah Chapter of the Virginia Master Naturalists.
5. Plant your own pollinator plots
The Department of Conservation and Recreation offers great resources for you to learn how to create your own native plant pollinator gardens at home. You don’t need a lot of space to do this, and together we can help protect the birds, bees, butterflies and all of our pollinator partners. Click here for more information. You can also find books on this topic for sale in the Sky Meadows Gift Shop/Visitor Center. These books have been especially selected by members of the Virginia Native Plant Society, and your purchase will support both the Virginia Native Plant Society and Virginia State Parks. Yet another way to protect pollinators!
If you have read the article and have a question, please email nancy.heltman@dcr.virginia.gov.