Monarch City USA, a non-profit that advocates for cities and town to actively recover their monarch butterfly populations, has named Wake Forest the first Monarch Town USA in North Carolina, meaning the town is committed to preserving and growing the monarch butterfly population.
It has done so by setting aside a monarch butterfly garden with the monarch- attracting milkweed and other nectar plants in E. Carroll Joyner Park on Harris Road. Town crews recently installed signs at the park identifying the butterfly habitat. The town also urges residents to plant milkweed in their gardens.
Monarchs rely on the milkweed and nectar plants for their food and home. According to the Monarch City USA website, monarchcityusa.com<http://www.monarchcityusa.com/>, nearly a billion monarch butterflies have vanished since 1990 because those plants are disappearing across America. Monarch City USA encourages municipalities across the nation to reverse the trend and support the monarch butterfly population by planting monarch milkweed and nectar plants.
