This Saturday is the third annual Monarch Migration Festival at Lakeside Nature Center in Galesburg.
One of the organizers of the festival Rhonda Brady has been tagging butterflies since 1997.
Brady goes into area schools to teach on the migration and life cycle of monarchs, taking the butterflies with her.
She says she won’t be able to do that if the monarch is placed on the endangered species list, which the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has been petitioned to do.
Brady sprung into action advocating for citizens to set up monarch waystations consisting of flowers and milkweed.
“I spoke the director of Monarch Watch and said ‘hey, has there ever been anybody declared the Monarch Way Station Capital of a state? What would it take for the 45-mile radius of Galesburg to be declared the Monarch Way Station Capital of Illinois?,” Brady said as she spoke to the Galesburg City Council.
Galesburg now has 175 way stations in a 45-mile radius and the City of Galesburg has more than the City of Peoria.
A waystation can be created at home gardens, schools, parks, and nature centers.
A number of speakers and activities will take place at the festival this weekend.
