Many of us are aware of the plummeting numbers of Monarch butterflies caused by the loss of their habitat, but few of us had thought about the meadow lark. When was the last time you heard a meadow lark?
You will be heartened to hear this news from Ruben Wall, the director of the Town of Wake Forest Parks and Recreation Department.
“The Town of Wake Forest Parks and Recreation Department is working with a group of citizens to create a nature preserve for the Monarch Butterfly and the Meadowlark bird at Joyner Park.
“We are creating signage and we hope to incorporate some education programs in the future. Leah Dey and Herb Amyx have been very instrumental in this process. They have also agreed to volunteer their time to assist with the education programs.
We are still in the early stages but we have designated an open area that has the common milkweeds growing. We will be installing a sign in the near future and the education piece has not be worked out at this time. Mrs. Dey also does a catch, tag and release of the monarch each year. Please let me know if you need additional information.”
You can reach Wall at rwall@wakeforestnc.gov and there will probably be something about this program on the town’s website in the near future.
Herb Amyx sent along a note: “Communities and parks all over the country are starting to set aside space to plant and grow the milkweeds that support Monarch Butterflies. E. Carroll Joyner Park already has large numbers of the milkweed that the Monarch Butterfly prefers, and is in a unique position to support this conservation effort by simply refraining from mowing the milkweeds until after the butterflies have departed. Ruben Wall has adjusted the mowing schedule to accomplish just that, and the milkweeds will multiply naturally. I believe that the Monarch Butterfly conservation effort will also be included in some of the Park’s educational programs in the future, and an informational sign is planned for the field where the milkweeds grow.”
