Monarch butterflies have begun their annual southbound migration, heading from Canada and the northern/Midwest U.S. to their winter home in Mexico, and have already begun showing up in Texas. Richardson is a great place to spot them, as the City has been a Mayors’ Monarch Pledge city since 2015 (a program of the National Wildlife Federation). The Parks Department has established dedicated butterfly gardens in three parks—Berkner, Prairie Creek and Durham—and includes butterfly-friendly plants in park and landscape projects wherever feasible, as the butterfly is an important part of our ecosystem.
Scientists rely on the help of citizen scientists to understand the monarch’s conservation needs—report sightings, track migration on real-time migration maps and follow migration news at www.journeynorth.org/monarchs.
For more information about the City’s monarch-friendly activities, visit www.cor.net/richardsonplants.
