Elmhurst Garden Club's Monarch Initiative More Than a Decade in the Making

The Elmhurst Garden Club (EGC) declared 2017 the Year of the Monarch, even though their efforts in monarch conservation have been going strong for over a decade.

The Garden Club was first introduced to the monarch’s plight by member Jane Foulser in 2005. Shortly after, EGC worked alongside Boy, Girl and Cub Scout troops and Elmhurst Park District employees to plant milkweed plugs in Eldridge Park. In 2007, Eldridge became one of the first local parks to be designated a Certified Monarch Waystation. Three more parks are also certified.

As of March, Elmhurst has 28 Certified Monarch Waystations -- three more parks maintained by Elmhurst Park District, seven schools, Elmhurst College and the First Congregation United Church of Christ.

In April 2016, EGC openly renewed its commitment to the monarch butterfly through the formation of the Monarch Initiative. At the urging of Elmhurst Garden Club, Elmhurst Mayor Steve Morley signed the National Wildlife Federation’s Mayor's Monarch Pledge, promoting community awareness about the need for milkweed and habitat for the monarch.

With six of the pledge’s action items already completed, EGC selected six new action items to complete and called on the community to help achieve them.

Elmhurst Garden Club provided Elmhurst Park District with 8,300 asclepias syriaca and tuberosa seeds to be planted in the recently renovated Butterfield Park. Additionally,the Elmhurst Public Works Department will plant approximately 125 milkweed plugs and 500 native, nectar-producing plants at stormwater detention areas. And at Elmhurst Garden Club’s May 2016 native plant sale, more than 100 milkweed plugs were distributed.

EGC members are consultants to the Garden Club of York Community High School. This last fall, the clubs worked to transplant and expand the butterfly-friendly and native pollinator plants in the high school gardens. Today, this area is not only certified as a Monarch Waystation, but it is certified as an environmentally-friendly area by The Conservation Foundation, a wildlife habitat by the National Wildlife Federation, and a pollinator garden by Xerces Society.

In January, EGC worked with DuPage Monarch Project and River Prairie Group of Sierra Club to co-sponsor the screening of Flight of the Monarch at Glen Ellyn Public Library.

Elmhurst Cool Cities Coalition (ECCC), Midwest Pesticide Action Center (MPAC) and Dig Right In Landscaping hosted a February presentation to Jumpstart Your Natural Lawn Care Plan. The use of harmful pesticides on lawns and gardens impacts children, pets and wildlife. Last year, Cool Cities and MPAC successfully campaigned to get the Elmhurst Park District to select Van Voorst Park as a pesticide-free test site.

Cool Cities, Elmhurst Public Library and Elmhurst Garden Club partnered in March for a presentation on Plight of the Monarchs. More than 80 local residents gathered to hear from The Butterfly Lady, Pat Miller. Miller is a Monarch Watch Conservation Specialist, Master Gardener and Master Naturalist, and a Plant Technician for Morton Arboretum.

The Elmhurst Public Library continued collaborating with the Monarch Initiative by providing programs for children in April and May.

The culmination of Elmhurst Garden Club’s Monarch Initiative is the July 9 Children’s Monarch Festival in Wilder Park. The Festival is held in conjunction with EGC’s Garden Walk and Faire, and is co-sponsored by Elmhurst Cool Cities Coalition, in cooperation with the Elmhurst Park District and the City of Elmhurst.

Festival activities include: keynote speaker Pat Miller, a live butterfly tent, face painting, Be a Monarch photo op, make-and-take crafts, free milkweed seed giveaways and educational opportunities. Vendors include: Forest Preserve District of DuPage County, DuPage Monarch Project, Natural Communities Native Plants, University of Illinois Extension Master Gardeners, Elmhurst Public Library and Elmhurst Cool Cities.

The City of Elmhurst is co-sponsoring the Festive with funding from an Explore Elmhurst grant. For information on Festival sponsorship or exhibitor opportunities, contact Barbara Lonergan at 630/426-9789; for information on the Garden Walk and Faire, contact Georgia Dolan at 630/530-0776; for information on the Monarch Initiative contact Jan Foster 630/530-0152.