Bartlesville Council of Garden Clubs and the City of Bartlesville continued to advance efforts to help restore dwindling populations of the monarch butterfly by dedicating “The Corner” of U.S. Highway 75 and Frank Phillips Boulevard during a ceremony held recently.
About 50 people attended the dedication of a monarch waystation at the site, which is easily recognized by area residents, on Sept. 14. Members of the BCGC, which is a member of the Oklahoma Garden Clubs, have maintained the public garden at The Corner for 45 years. For the last couple of years work has been done to update the gardens, including adding plants to support the monarch butterfly.
The City of Bartlesville and BCGC have joined forces to help replenish monarch populations, which have declined by an estimated 90 percent in the U.S. and Mexico over the past 20 years due to forest fragmentation, chemicals and global warming.
Monarchs and monarch caterpillars could be viewed in the garden during the come and go ceremony. Kloma Laws of the BCGC spoke about the history of the garden and the plight of the monarch, and Mayor Dale Copeland presented the Monarch Waystation Certificate to Nita Swan, chair of the Garden Corner. Special guests included Copeland, Linda Lawson, director of South Central Garden Club Region, which includes Oklahoma, Arkansas, Texas and New Mexico, Judy Grotts, president of the Oklahoma Garden Clubs Northeast District, and Marilyn Lay, treasurer of the Oklahoma Garden Clubs Northeast District.