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The Friends of the Greenway recently established a Monarch Butterfly Waystation on the Little Tennessee River Greenway. The waystation is a garden which provides essential nutrients to the Monarch and lies in its migratory route. Located just south of the Rotary Club's Centennial Circle on the Old Airport Trail, the butterfly garden is a short distance south of Franklin’s Main Street.

Each fall, the Monarch may travel as much as 3,000 miles to return to the same tree in the mountains of Mexico that his mother left the previous spring. Following the same route during the annual fall and spring migrations, Monarchs spend the summer throughout the USA and Canada.

It is vital that the Monarch have nutrients in sufficient quantities along these routes or they would be unable to make the long trek. The normal Monarch resources have been in serious decline for several years because milkweeds and other nectar sources are disappearing along with farm and ranch land across the country. Uncontrolled development and the use of herbicides along roadsides is a major factor in the eradication of milkweed.

Established in 1992 by the University of Kansas, Monarch Watch involves more than 2,000 schools, nature centers, and other similar organizations across the USA and Canada. With more than 100,000 students and adults participating, Monarch Watch is an educational outreach and research project. The program also involves participants in real science with the aim also of providing information on the biology and conservation of the Monarch butterfly.

The Monarch Waystation program is just one part of that group's endeavors dedicated to education, conservation, and research of the Monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus).

Kay Coriell, FROGs Chairman of the Board, was the driving force behind the project but gives a lot of the credit to her friend, Ina Warren. Ms. Warren provided a lot of technical advice and even provided many of the plant species desired in habitats of Monarch butterflies and other vital pollinators. A lot of the credit also goes to the Otto Garden Club whose members grew nectar-producing plants, nurtured them, and then helped locate the plants in the most advantageous part of the new waystation. These ladies also donated cuttings or roots of their own perennials to get the new garden on its way. Plant varieties include zinnia, butterfly bush, althea, marigold, butterfly weed, and several others. Volunteers are continuing to donate valuable time and effort in keeping the new garden weeded and in good shape.

FROGs were awarded official certification of the Greenway site by Monarch Watch.To learn more about the extraordinary Monarch Butterfly, visit Monarch Watch’s website at http://www.monarchwatch.org.

Photo and Text Contributed by Hollis Walker