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Announcement of Native Plant Society of Texas Grant to Norchester Garden Club, etal

7/7/2014

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Native Plant Society of Texas

Monarch project announces garden grants 
By Julie Allen on April 8, 2014
The Native Plant Society of Texas is awarding $7500 in small grants to 36 community gardens around the state to fund planting of Monarch butterfly habitat. The grants were announced April 4 by Cathy Downs, chair of the Society’s Bring Back the Monarch to Texas project.

This is the second year that the grants have been awarded to schools, nature centers and other organizations in order to create demonstration gardens or “Monarch Waystations” with habitat for the migrating Monarchs. The grants may only be used to pay for native milkweeds or native butterfly nectar plants. The application process for grants is described here.

“These gardens will not only raise awareness of the plight of the Monarch Butterfly, they also demonstrate the importance of our native plants to the life cycle of the Monarch and other wildlife species,” said Native Plant Society president Bill Hopkins. “We encourage homeowners to incorporate these plants into their own landscapes.”

Texas provides critical habitat on the primary migration pathway of Monarchs to their wintering grounds in Mexico, according to Cathy Downs.  The availability of native milkweed host plants, which is necessary to assure successive generations continuing north, has declined in Texas. Herbicide-tolerant crops, mowing of roadsides, parks and open areas and continued drought have all had an impact on the number of Monarchs surviving the southern journey to Mexico. Recently released population estimates for the Monarchs over-wintering in Mexico report the butterfly numbers to be at an extremely low level this year.

The Bring Back the Monarch to Texas project was established two years ago by the Native Plant Society of Texas to raise public awareness for Monarch Butterfly conservation, to produce and distribute milkweeds that support reproduction by Monarch butterflies and to restore Monarch habitat throughout the Texas migration flyway. The project works with Monarch Watch to grow native milkweed and make it more available. Monarch Watch is an educational outreach program based at the University of Kansas that engages citizen scientists in large-scale research projects. Monarch Watch provided some of the funding for the garden grant program. Additional funds were raised by Native Plant Society chapters and some came through generous individual gifts.

Cathy Downs and other volunteers in the Bring Back the Monarch to Texas project are available for presentations at schools, garden clubs and other organizations. Contact our State Office for more information.

Organizations receiving grants in Spring 2014

Grapevine Garden Club
Grapevine

Rio Grande Valley Chapter TMN
San Benito

Linden Garden Club
Lindem

Clear Lake Shores Civic Club
Clear Lake Shores

St. Christopher Episcopal Church
League City

Garden Oaks Elementary School
Houston

Hunt County Master Gardeners
Greeville

Dallas County Master Gardeners
Dallas

Johnson County Herb Society
Crowley

Faith Lutheran Church
Flower Mound

Norchester Garden Club
Houston

Texas Panhandle Audubon Society
Amarillo

First Jefferson Unitarian Universalist Church
Forth Worth

Kindercare Learning Center
Fort Worth

Oak Hill Elementary PTA
Austin

Children in Nature Network North Tx. Region
Fort Worth

Smithville Public Library
Smithville

City of New Braunfels Parks and Recreation Dept.
New Braunfels

Schreiner University
Kerrville

Unity Church of Arlington
Arlington

Jasper Arboretum
Jasper

Texas Military Department, Camp Mabry
Austin

Big Country Chapter TMN
Ranger

Pines Montessori School
Kingwood

Kaurman County Agrilife Extension Office
Kaufman

Avery Ranch Owners Association
Austin

First United Methodist Church
Smithville

Festival Beach Community Garden
Austin

Hays County Chapter TMN
Wimberley

Grapevine Elementary PTA
Grapevine

Lubbock Memorial Arboretum Foundation
Lubbock

Dallas County Master Gardeners
Richardson

Good Life Taylor Texas
Taylor

Texas Discovery Gardens
Dallas

Friends of Oak Cliff Parks
Dallas

You may also like -Attracting monarch butterfliesSustaining biodiversity with native plantsGrants help bring back the MonarchProposed project would help MonarchsGot milkweed? Monarchs need it to survive

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