Monarch Festival and Milkweed Mile – How Highland Helps Butterflies and Bees
(Arden Vanover, July 26, 2023)
Highland Township, MI – In 2018, The Milkweed Mile Project was launched in Highland after a presentation by Maecy Zarate, who was eight years old and passionate about the monarch butterfly population in her community. She saw the milkweed-abundant median along M-59, between Town Center Drive and Harvey Lake Road, being mowed down and decided to take action.
With a letter written to the Highland Township Supervisor, the Milkweed Mile Project was born.
Prior to the project’s conception, the median housed milkweed which attracted local pollinators, but it would get mowed down every season as it grew back, greatly limiting the activity of not only monarch butterflies, but other types of butterflies and bees.
The project progressed into a petition that then went to the board where it was then approved to be put into action. This approval made Highland the first city in Michigan to become a registered member of Monarch City USA, a non-profit organization with the goal of creating support for monarch butterfly populations by planting new milkweed and nectar plants throughout communities.
Each year, the petition to continue with the “no-mow” zone must be resubmitted, and that is the responsibility of the Highland Supervisor Office, with Assistant to the Supervisor Cassie Blascyk taking the lead on the renewals.
Blasck said that the work to upkeep this project is easy and well worth it because there is a visible result each year when these plants grow. The process to establish a zone like this and become a Monarch City is simple, she said, and that other cities in Michigan could do this easily as well.
Since the implementation of this, the Office of the Supervisor has seen a large increase in activity of many butterfly species, honeybees and bumble bees due to the planting milkweed, yarrow, butterfly weed, black-eyed Susans, purple coneflowers and even more.
Since Highland is a registered Monarch City, that also means the city has the honor of hosting a Monarch Festival in August to enjoy the beauty that these butterflies bring to the community. The event offers fun for all and will have a presentation from the Blue Heron Headwaters Conservancy about the pollinators and conservation efforts in the local community.
This year, the festival is Saturday, Aug. 19 from 10 a.m. – 2 p.m. at Highland Farmers’ Market.
Visit the Facebook page for more information on the festival.
For more on Monarch City USA visit http://monarchcityusa.com/
