Forest Preserve To Host Monarchs & Milkweed Festival

The Forest Preserve District of Kane County will host its Monarchs and Milkweed Festival from 12 to 3 p.m. on June 23 at LeRoy Oakes Forest Preserve, 37W700 Dean St., St. Charles. Pollinators are responsible for bringing us one out of every three bites of food, according to a news release from the forest preserve district. They also sustain ecosystems and produce natural resources by helping plants reproduce.

Those attending the festival can learn more about the birds, bees, butterflies, bats, beetles and other small mammals that pollinate plants, according to a news release from the forest preserve district.

"At the Monarchs and Milkweed Festival, we’ll have free pollinator-friendly plants (Butterfly milkweed, Swamp milkweed, Bee balm, Prairie blazing star, Pale purple coneflower, Sky blue aster, Foxglove beardtongue, and Purple prairie clover) while supplies last. Naturalists will lead guided hikes in the prairie. There will also be crafts and butterfly-house kits for purchase. Plus, enjoy live music by Mark Dvorak. Exhibiting organizations include: FermiLab, Kane-DuPage Soil and Water Conservation District, Northern Kane County Wild Ones, and The Conservation Foundation," according to the news release.

There will also be food trucks at the festival, including Bernie’s Bully Dogs, Cupcakes for Courage and Grumpy Gaucho.

“In this festival, we’ll celebrate the beauty and importance of Kane County’s flora and fauna, while educating people about the importance of plants and pollinators. We want folks to appreciate the intricate relationships in nature, and how critical it is to restore habitat for animals, plants and people alike,” said Valerie Blaine, environmental education manager. “The monarch butterfly is the ‘poster child’ of native pollinators. Other pollinators, though, are often overlooked. Native plants, such as milkweed, are sometimes taken for granted or dismissed as weeds. Monarchs, milkweed, bumble bees and wildflowers are locked in an interdependent relationship that reflects the health of the environment."

Admission to the Monarchs and Milkweed Festival is free. Butterfly kits and food will be for sale. There will be experts on hand to answer questions about native plant gardening, habitat restoration and to teach ways that everyone can pitch in to preserve plants and their pollinators. Bring bag chairs and picnic blankets, if you’d like.