Small company takes big steps to save the Monarch Butterfly
Cary, NC — Frame-It All introduced the Monarch Migration Station, a new product that brings the experience of a butterfly house into your own backyard. With the threat of extinction looming over the monarch butterfly, the company saw an opportunity to integrate a solution into their patented modular raised bed system. The Monarch Migration Station creates a milkweed oasis for any butterfly passing through your region. Anthony Topping, the CEO of FrameIt-All, knew it was crucial to partner with Rick Mikula in order to make this product possible.
“Mikula has been the prime expert butterfly breeder and educator in our nation for the past 35 years. Learning and understanding the work he’s done, it wasn’t a hard decision,” Topping stated. “We understand that in order for solutions to be found, we have to educate others about what’s going on. With the help of Rick, the Monarch Migration Station has, and will, become an experience easy enough for anyone to enjoy and learn from.”
This is a critical ecological situation. While many understand that the decline of milkweed throughout North America has become one of the greatest threats to monarchs, not enough has been done to deal with this problem. Although finding a solution in order to stop the overuse of glyphosate—the herbicide killing milkweed in soybean and corn croplands—may be challenging, the Monarch Migration Station hopes to inspire a new generation of problem-solvers.
Rick Mikula, President of Butterfly Rescue International, stated that, “It wasn’t until Anthony explained the Monarch Migration Station’s concept that I finally believed we had found a solution. The Migration Station not only addresses northern and southern migration, but also offers a safe harbor for any butterfly, all season long. With a series of Monarch Migration Stations placed throughout the country, I believe that we can establish a biological bridge of host plants and nectar sources to help the Monarch population thrive. The best part is that it finally makes sense for anyone and everyone to get involved and to help out.”
About Rick Mikula
Rick Mikula has been breeding and sharing his love of butterflies with audiences for the past 35 years. He is currently President of Butterfly Rescue International and serves as consultant to both the Association For Butterflies and The International Butterfly Breeders Association.
Rick is a co-founder and past president of the IBBA, has served as a vice president of the Canadian Butterfly Breeders and Exhibitors Association, secretary and treasurer for the New Jersey Lepidopterist Society, and on the BOD for The Center for Landscape Design and Stewardship.
He is also the pioneer and inventor of the activity of releasing butterflies at weddings and funerals and has helped to make it a global phenomenon. He has presented to every type of group imaginable from children with severe developmental disadvantages to the Smithsonian Institution, and from Mainline garden clubs to the New Jersey Correctional systems and everyone in between.
About Frame-It-All
Since it’s founding in 1999 by Anthony Topping, Vegherb LLC. (aka, Frame-it-All) has continued to set standards high with the company’s line of raised garden systems. With the hope to provide a do-it-yourself option for his clients, Anthony, a long time landscape designer and horticulturalist, started the company with the introduction of their patented raised garden bed system.
By continuing to innovate around their patented stake system, the company has continued to develop products and accessories that integrate into the collection of garden beds they provide. By partnering with Rick Mikula, Frame-it-All has found an even better way to expand your garden, allowing any person the chance to give back to this endangered population. More information on the Monarch Migration Station can be found at www.frameitall.com/butterfly-gardens.html