From Monarch Rescue:

Asheville, NC – As part of a national effort to stave the decline of monarch butterflies, Asheville Housing Authority and Monarch Rescue will dedicate butterfly gardens this weekend at Altamont Apartments (10am-11am) and at Bartlett Arms Apartments (12pm-1pm). The event will include a butterfly ‘tagging’ event and release in celebration of the community effort that went into creating the gardens.

“It was indeed a pleasure to partner with Monarch Rescue and Buncombe County Earn and Learn to develop the first Rosalyn Carter Butterfly Trail Garden in our area. Several of our senior residents worked closely with volunteers in order to complete the plantings. It was a great opportunity to beautify our property, and renew their love and support for butterflies,” said Robert Hooper Site Manager for Asheville Housing Authority’s Altamont and Bartlett Arms Apartments.

The gardens were established last spring by the residents at Altamont and Bartlett Arms, by participants in Buncombe Alternatives, Inc.’s Earn & Learn and Teen Court juvenile restorative justice programs, and local organization Monarch Rescue using a grant from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. These gardens will be the first gardens dedicated in WNC as part of the Rosalyn Carter Butterfly Trail, an initiative set forth by the former first lady, to create a garden trail from Plains, Georgia to Washington, DC.

“Loss of milkweed habitat is the heart of the problem and is the reason we are seeing such a dramatic decline in the monarch butterfly population,” said Nina Veteto, founder of Monarch Rescue. “With these plantings, we’re working to ensure monarchs have they need to thrive in western North Carolina.”

There are two monarch populations in the United States – western and eastern. Eastern monarchs overwinter at a single location in Mexico, allowing researchers to keep close tabs on population size, which has declined over the past twenty years. The Fish and Wildlife Service has been asked to place the monarch on the federal endangered species list. While that decision is pending, the Service is working nation-wide to support local efforts to install butterfly gardens. The gardens help create habitat for the monarch butterfly by providing several types of native milkweed, the only plant the monarch will lay its eggs on, as well as other nectar sources for the butterflies and other pollinators.

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Monarch Rescue – A local non-profit organization whose main goals are to establish monarch/pollinator habitat here in Western North Carolina and educate the public about the plight of the monarch butterfly. Monarch Rescue offers a 4-week monarch butterfly program in local schools during the month of September. Nina Veteto, executive director, 828/712-5531, www.monarchrescue.org

Fish and Wildlife Service – The mission of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is working with others to conserve, protect, and enhance fish, wildlife, plants, and their habitats for the continuing benefit of the American people. We are both a leader and trusted partner in fish and wildlife conservation, known for our scientific excellence, stewardship of lands and natural resources, dedicated professionals, and commitment to public service. For more information on our work and the people who make it happen, visit www.fws.gov