Presenter, Joyce Pearsall, at the Cradle of Forestry’s Monarch Waystation (Photo by Ina Warren)

The Pacolet Area Conservancy (PAC) and Walnut Creek Preserve (WCP) invite the public to attend a free presentation on The Monarch Butterfly: Biology and Current Status, presented by Joyce Pearsall. The program will be held at the Anne Elizabeth Suratt Nature Center at Walnut Creek Preserve on Saturday, April 30, at 10:30 a.m.

This program will discuss why we are concerned about the Monarch butterfly population decline, the Monarch lifecycle, an MRI of a chrysalis, a little math and geometry, the milkweed community, and gardening to create pollinator habitat. If there is time, a seven minute video TED talk about the beauty of pollination will be shown.

Joyce is a retired registered nurse and has worked with monarch butterflies since 2004. In 2012, Chip Taylor, the director of Monarch Watch, invited her to join them as a volunteer conservation specialist to give presentations and classroom educational programs.

In addition, she has helped create multiple Monarch waystations on public and private properties in western North Carolina. The program is best for adults and children who listen like adults and families are welcome, too.

To get to Walnut Creek Preserve’s Nature Center from the Tryon and Columbus area, take Hwy. 108 E and turn left on Hwy. 9 toward Lake Lure. Follow Hwy. 9 N for five miles and turn right onto McGuinn Road (at the Exxon Station). Go one mile to the intersection with Big Level Road; turn left, go two-tenths of a mile and take the first right onto Aden Green Road. Follow Aden Green for four-tenths of a mile and turn left on Herbarium Lane and into Walnut Creek Preserve. Take the first left onto Conservatory Lane, which takes you to the parking area for the nature center.

GPS coordinates to the Nature Center are available at the PAC website.

For more information or directions from another location, contact the Pacolet Area Conservancy at 828-859-5060 or e-mail landprotection@pacolet.org.

The next PAC/WCP program will be held on May 14. Botanist and naturalist, David Campbell, will present a program on butterflies and butterfly identification.

For more information about Walnut Creek Preserve, visit walnutcreekpreserve.com.  Please note, Walnut Creek Preserve is private property and guests are only allowed on the property by invitation, a planned event or scheduled group.

-Submitted by Pam Torlina