Guests at Russel Allen Garden Day broaden knowledge and skills
Part Three: Revitalizing Monarch habitat in rural landscapes

[March 14, 2019]   LINCOLN - As the keynote speaker in the final hour of the day, Assistant Professor of Science at Lincoln College, Dr. Julia Ossler, presented a program she had entitled does nature need cities. She said she found the title intriguing because the common first response of most people would be no, nature does not need cities, and furthermore is harmed by cities.

However, Dr. Ossler said that was not necessarily the case. The key is for cities to promote nature within their boundaries through productive use of their green spaces.

Speaking specifically about increasing the population of milkweed throughout the state for the benefit of the monarch population, Ossler spoke about work being done to cultivate the plant in urban areas.

Ossler explained that the monarch population is dependent upon milkweed specifically for its regeneration. The milkweed is needed for the feeding and development of the caterpillar stage of the monarch.

Lincoln College has partnered with Field Museum in Chicago to work on a study concerning milkweed and monarchs. Ossler said that looking specifically at Chicago, work had been done to determine what the milkweed potential was in the large metropolitan area. The GPS modeling used to show concrete surfaces and buildings along with green spaces had at first been depressing. She said the initial models showed little potential for cultivation of plants because there were practically no greenspaces.

However, when the team started working with the many variables that could exist in Chicago, such as buildings with rooftop garden potential and landscaping around buildings, plus landscape in residential areas, they discovered that Chicago had the greenspace potential to provide all the milkweed needed for monarch regeneration. That was surprising and exciting.

Another surprise was when the teams began doing studies in the downstate regions. Ossler said that it was expected that the hometown community would be high in milkweed production because it was a small agricultural community with lots of greenspace and lots of potential. However, the study showed that milkweed in Lincoln and in Logan County was all but non-existent.

Moving farther south the team worked in the area of Carbondale, and again they were shocked by the results. It turns out that Carbondale has a reasonably high population of milkweed. Ossler said the team had felt that Lincoln would surely do better than Carbondale, but the larger community to the south had blown Lincoln out of the water.

Ossler said that there are plans to further research what is going on in Carbondale. Results found there may provide some guidance for other rural communities.

Ossler also provided a handout in the guest bags that shows the plants that are helpful to the monarch populations. These are plants that include a variety of milkweed, but also other flowering plants that the adult monarch feed off of through their life cycle. The handout is part of the research done with the Field Museum and can be found on the museum website following this link - https://fieldguides.fieldmuseum.org/ sites/ default/files/rapid-color-guides-pdfs/ 878_usa_monarch_habitat_garden.pdf 

The museum also has a page named Monarch Butterflies 101 that explains the life cycle and migration of the butterflies.

Ossler said the students at Lincoln College have been very excited to be a part of this project and are working hard to make a contribution. She said that one of the issues facing the Monarch butterfly is its designation as an endangered species. The Monarch is currently on the national endangered species list, but, that designation is about to expire. Ossler said when she told her students that the work they were doing would be used this year to re-submit the Monarch for the endangered designation it was quite sobering for all of them, as they realized the impact they could have on the future of the butterfly.

For some in the audience this was also a sobering fact, and for some a source of pride and enthusiasm to think that our small town college is involved in something that is so important to the balance of nature.

Ossler also spoke briefly about a project called, All Hands on Deck, to restore Monarch habitat backed by the Monarch Butterfly Fund and suggested that everyone visit the webpage and consider trying to help out.

As she wrapped up her discussions, Ossler also mentioned the need to preserve other pollinator insects and talked about a new program called “bee cities.” She said that to have a bee city would involve getting support from the local governing bodies. One person in the audience commented that the bee city might not be possible in this area because of the spraying for mosquitos. She noted that the city doesn’t have total control over that spraying, they are mandated by the state to spray when mosquitos reach certain populations. Ossler said that was true, but there might still be actions that could be taken. She said she would be interested in talking with anyone who was willing to take on a bee city project. In the meantime, she said students at LC are working toward come other bee designations to help promote plant life that will support and encourage pollinator insects.

With time running out, Ossler brought the day to a close opening the floor for questions and comments, and thanked everyone for attending.

Outside the rain was falling in buckets and the skies were gray, but as the crowd prepared to exit, rain was better than snow. Spring is just around the corner, and they were now better equipped to tackle those spring garden projects.

The Russel Allen Garden day is one of two large fundraisers for the Logan County Master Gardeners. The next big fundraiser will be the spring plant sale, which is scheduled for May 11th from 8 a.m. to noon in the Special Events building at the Logan County Fairgrounds in Lincoln. The sale day coincides with the opening of the ALMH Market, also at the fairground in the Expo building.

Be sure to mark your calendar for both events!

[Nila Smith with Photos by Mark Gordon, Lincoln College]