MCC butterfly garden opened up to the public
Raising awareness and sharing butterflies’ natural beauty during the fall season prompts Mesa Community College to continue to host their annual open house at the college’s Monarch Way Station, where guests can freely walk around the garden and view the wildlife.
MCC’s Butterfly Garden is a small area south of the clocktower where various flora are planted in order to attract and support the declining butterfly population.
“I think it’s a valuable resource for not just MCC, but the public in general. A lot of butterflies are not endangered, but their habitat has been leading toward a lot of population loss,” said Bryan Avina, MCC’s Life Science lab supervisor and a maintainer of the garden.
“By actually making a garden with a lot of pollinated flowers that host the butterflies, it can help create the population and make sure they are around for future generations,” Avina explained.
The garden is also a Monarch Waystation, specifically designed for the conservation of butterflies. It is home to both Arizona native and non-native plants that MCC’s horticulturist specially picked out what to grow based on what butterflies and bees like and will help pollinate, according to Peter Brown, a faculty member of MCC’s biology department.
Brown pointed out the colorful plants that draw the winged insects in and the tropical and desert milkweed that butterflies lay their eggs on, which is why the formed caterpillars enjoy eating it. However, Brown mentioned that they prefer tropical milkweed since there is more for the bugs to eat. He believes that a lack of milkweed contributes to butterflies being an at-risk species.
“People say part of it is that farmers are doing a better job of weed control. There’s not as much milkweed around for them to lay their eggs. There are two things that are attracting the butterflies, the flowers probably bring them down here and then when they see the milkweed, I don’t know how they recognize it somehow, they know to lay their eggs,” Brown explained.
The Butterfly Garden open house event was initially planned to take place from Oct. 28 to Oct. 31, but was extended until Nov. 7 because the flowers are still in full bloom and the lessened staffing requirements compared to previous years, Brown explained.
Melissa Carpenter, the foundations for student success director at MCC said this was the second year she has visited the open house. This time, she brought her mother to what she believes is one of the college’s best-kept secrets.
“I sit behind a computer in meetings a lot of my day whether I’m with students or faculty or staff and so just getting out of the office, into the outdoors and the weather, is nicer,” Carpenter mentioned. “And just kind of reconnecting with nature was my goal for taking a few minutes outside of the office,” she added.
This event is meant to inspire according to Avina. He, and others, hope the butterfly garden will motivate others to do the same, even if it is to a smaller scale.
“Opening it up to the public creates interest in this project and hopefully encourages other people to start their own gardens at home and increase the availability of food for monarchs and other butterflies around the valley,” he said.
People can reach out to Emma Thadani at MCC’s Center for Community and Civic Engagement, who maintains a mailing list for the Monarch Waystation committee, if they are interested in getting involved.
