Follow ‘The Incredible Journey of Butterflies’ with garden club

WOODBURY >> Members of the Pomperaug Valley Garden Club will present the PBS Nova film “The Incredible Journey of the Butterflies” at The Studio at Flanders Nature Center and Land Trust on Thursday evening March 23. The one-hour film will begin promptly at 7 p.m., followed by a discussion of the current status of monarchs, the Monarch Waystation at Flanders, and tips on how to create a butterfly-friendly garden.

In 2011, the garden club installed a “Monarch Waystation” adjacent to the Flanders’ Sugar House, in an effort to provide desperately needed habitat for monarch butterflies. The monarchs, which numbered 1 billion as recently as 1996, have declined in numbers by more than ninety percent since the 1990s. The decline is due to many factors, but the most significant by far is considered to be the loss of larval and nectar habitat — milkweed in particular, and nectar sources in general.

A 2016 report led by the Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego, found that there is a substan- tial chance of quasi-extinction over the next 20 years, which occurs when so few remaining individuals are left that recovery is impossible.

While the remaining individuals may survive for a short time, the population as a whole will inevitably go extinct. The federal government is currently reviewing the monarchs for Endangered Species status.

Locally, club members con- tinue to nurture and maintain the Waystation and the newly installed Nectar Garden. The Pomperaug Valley Garden Club is a charter member of the Federation Garden Clubs of Connecticut and National Garden Clubs, Inc. The club sponsors speakers at monthly meetings, garden-oriented field trips, numerous civic projects in Woodbury, and a scholarship program.

The Flanders’ Studio is located on the corner of Flanders Road and Church Hill Road in Woodbury. The cost is $10 for Flanders members or $15 for non-members.

Those interested may register online at www.flandersnaturecenter.org or call 203263-3711, ext. 10, for more information.

Flanders Nature Center & Land Trust acquires, preserves and manages land; and uses the land to promote understanding and appreciation of nature, art and the environment. Founded by artist, farmer and environmentalist Natalie Van Vleck, Flanders provides a variety of environmental education programs yearround, designed to bring a deeper understanding of art, nature and farming to children, youth and adults in the Woodbury region and throughout Connecticut.

CONTRIBUTED PHOTO Gardens can be planted that will attract butterflies for new habitats. The Pomperaug Garden Club will discuss them during a film and presentation at Flander Nature Center on March 23.

CONTRIBUTED PHOTO A male monarch butterfly, whose numbers have declined in recent years.