Monarchs to be celebrated with special events

By Sandy Morris

The National Wildlife Federation recently sent out letters to mayors of all cities in the path of the Monarch Butterfly migration, and Albany mayor Susan Montgomery was a recipient of one of those letters. 

“The letter asked that we all take the Monarch Mayor Pledge and proclaim the week of March 22 to March 27 as Monarch Awareness Week,” Montgomery said. “The Monarch is near extinction, and by making this pledge, we commit to work toward creating a habitat for the butterfly.”

On Monday, March 22, Montgomery will sign an official proclamation which will kick off a week of activities and information about the orange and black butterfly.

The Old Jail Art Center’s weekly craft kits will be based on the Monarch and will be available in the “Art@Home” activity trunk located at the front gates of the museum.

Kits are free of charge and are available to children ages four to 12.

A Monarch Family Fair is planned from 3:00 to 7:00 p.m. on Wednesday, March 24 at the Bank Park.

OJAC staff members and junior docents will set up stations for children’s activities, including making Monarch windsocks and stained glass windows.

The City of Albany will also host a booth, and a flyer will be available with interesting facts about the Monarch. 

A photo booth will be set up at the event and Milkweed seed bombs will be available. 

Montgomery said that the Milkweed plant is the only host plant a Monarch will lay their eggs, but that due to construction and farming, the plant is in short supply. 

“Milkweed seeds have to be hand-picked off of the plant,” said Montgomery. “They are hard to find, but we are hoping to plant one in the Community Garden.”

Montgomery’s tentative plan is to plant the Milkweed after the weekly noon meeting of the Chamber of Commerce on Friday, March 26.

The week of events will wrap up at 3:30 p.m. on Saturday, March 27 with a virtual lecture on the Texas Monarch Migration sponsored by the OJAC.

The lecture will be livestreamed on the OJAC Facebook page @facebook.com/theojac.