The Loudoun Wildlife Conservancy has recently completed their first ever inauguralmonarch butterfly campaign; with a goal of releasing a symbolic 2,013 of the orange-and-black butterflies. The organization’s President, Nicole Hamilton, has said that they released more than 2,500 butterflies across Loudoun County this past summer. With the annual number of monarchs in Loudoun decreasing in the past few years, the Conservancy has succeeded in jump-starting a monarch movement.

    The monarch butterfly campaign is the first of its kind for Loudoun County; the campaign is meant to educate local residents as well as provide way stations of milkweed plants and wildflowers, where monarchs can easily feed and breed. The response by the community to the campaign and its goals have been positive and plenty, with the widespread feeling of saving a species close to home.

  “These are fascinating creatures, with impressive migration distances. It would be a major loss if they disappeared,” said science teacher Molly Rippa.

  Migrating between Mexico and the United States, the monarch butterflies have become threatened by changes in climate patterns, illegal logging in the Mexican forests where they spend the winter, and the use of herbicide sprays in the United States that kill their milkweed breeding grounds. Even Potomac Falls students are seeking a way to help with the campaign’s overall efforts.

  “We are looking to expand the PFHS butterfly garden. The Conservancy works closely with many LCPS schools to promote an awareness of the habitat destruction and other challenges facing monarch butterflies,” said science teacher Conrad Varblow.

  Loudoun’s Wildlife Conservancy plans to continue the campaign, after this year’s outcome exceeded their expectations for success.

  “We live in a world filled with pollution and pressing environmental issues, and campaigns such as these are more than influential and are much needed,” said senior Mona Rad.

  At the end of Aug., 60 total way stations were created across the county, with an addition of about 3,000 milkweed plants to benefit the monarch population. Locals only need to follow a few simple tasks to help maintain the organizations efforts.

  “Not using herbicides and pesticides, watering less, and replacing grass with native species of flowers are easy first steps,” said Varblow.

  The Conservancy is seeking more participation by neighboring counties, as well as schools in Loudoun County and their interested students. PFHS science teachers know all too well how the classroom can tie in to helping make a significant difference in the environment.

“It just makes sense to protect the planet our lives depend on and the species that make up our ecosystems. Some are requirements for life, others for making life worthwhile,” said Rippa.