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What is the Bermuda Monarch Conservancy News and calendar MonarchTalk Monarch map and health chart The people of BMC Contact us |
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The Bermuda Monarch Conservancy (BMC) is a non-profit organization dedicated to the conservation of Bermuda's monarch butterfly colony and to the promotion of environmental awareness and education in the community. BMC's mission is to establish and maintain a network of monarch groves across the island, facilitate monarch conservation awareness and education, and promote public/private partnerships and tourism in Bermuda. BMC's activities began in January 2003. Since then, BMC has established an experimental grove and assembled a team of local partners and donors. BMC's activities are organized around three programs - Adopt a Grove, In the Classroom, and MonarchTalk - and made accessible to all through this web site. Bermudamonarch.org is our main communication channel with you, parents, children, teachers, gardeners, walkers, butterfly watchers, naturalists, and prospective partners and donors. Here you'll find information you can use on our current activities, and children will discover plenty of (and expanding) resources on monarchs and milkweed. We have created MonarchTalk for everything-monarch that's Hot to Post! It's a (relatively) interactive bulletin board where you can send us your comments, questions, stories, ideas, or notes on your gardening and monarch sightings. We'll post online your emails and the feedback they receive from other participants. Make MonarchTalk yours - it is your community's small online forum to exchange tips and ideas. Check out below how it will look. NEWS AND CALENDAR |
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Maritime Museum Crew (left to right): Cecile, Stephen, Andrew and Lee Davidson; Ayden, Lorie and Dan Prime, Frances Smith and Charlotte Andrews; missing in the picture: Pui and Keith Stuart, and Howard Smith. |
Andrew selecting the seedlings. |
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Here's a snapshot of our programs and why it's fun and rewarding to join our current volunteers, partners, and donors. Adopt a Grove BMC is developing a network of groves across the Bermuda islands. Each grove is a natural sanctuary protecting the resident colony in its habitat (a mix of milkweed, trees, and nectar flowers) - and acts as a living clustor in this expanding network. The Monarch Groves of Bermuda are landmarks of the island's natural heritage - and a lively focal point for locals and visitors. Learn more about how to Get Involved, or how to lend your name to a distinct sanctuary in Adopt a Grove. In the Classroom Butterflies capture the imagination of everyone, adults and children alike. The monarch groves are ecosystems teeming with life; they engage children to protect the places where they play. So do school gardens - as teachers know well. Affiliate schools, we provide you with seeds or seedlings for your school gardens, as well as monarch materials that fit into your curriculum. We organize an annual school award program so that each of your participating classes can compete to be rewarded for their accomplishments - and win movie tickets! Read more in Get Involved. MonarchTalk Ask questions, share your stories, experiences, and tips, or give feedback to the forum's participants via email at MonarchTalk@bermudamonarch.org. You can also send emails on your milkweed, caterpillars, or monarch sightings from your garden or elsewhere on the island. We'll post your notes on MonarchTalk and log them in our records. You'll see your plantings and sightings dot the Bermuda monarch distribution map and seasonal health chart. We're launching MonarchTalk in 2005! Join the forum for fun or for science! DATE: November 2003 BY: Warwick resident - The milkweed is in bloom in my garden but I have no butterflies. What happened to them during the hurricane? DATE: November 2003 BY: Paget resident - They probably hid in the trees. Some may not have survived. Cold winter temperatures are more of a threat. I hear it's a good idea to put out a butterfly house where they can roost and keep warm during wintertime. DATE: February 2004 BY: Somerset resident - Milkweed in full bloom in my garden. Waiting for monarchs! DATE:March 2004 BY: Tucker's Town resident - Milkweed in bloom, no butterflies here either. DATE: March 2004 BY: Cecile - Paget Grove - I spotted my first monarch out of hibernation on Lover's Lane. So there are survivors after this winter's exceptionally low temperatures. I bumped into a class from the Gilbert Institute under the supervision of Professor Tucker and Nicola O'Leary of BNT at the grove. We're fixing it before the summer season! I'm glad you're enjoying it! DATE: April 10, 2004 BY: Stephen - First caterpillar of the season. Here we go! DATE: April 11, 2004 BY: Cecile - Steve and I met a tourist couple at the grove (birdwatchers). They were from Cincinnati. We exchanged stories about the Daniel Boon forest, the Natural Arches covered in mountain laurels, and the Mammoth Cave. I'm glad they enjoyed the grove. DATE: April 18, 2004 BY: Jennings Bay resident - Milkweed in bloom with caterpillars. DATE: April 25, 2004 BY: Point Shares resident - Milkweed in bloom with two monarchs. DATE: April 26, 2004 BY: Paget resident - Monarchs laying eggs around Rural Hill. DATE: April 30, 2004 BY: Cecile - I met Ms. Smith and her husband at the grove. Ms. Smith's father used to work at the Biostation and created the first small-scale model of the Bermuda volcanic mount and surrounding seafloor. How's that for fascinating? They live in Nova Scotia and although it's a bit of a northern latitude for monarchs, they proved to me once again that Canadians know a whole lot about monarchs! DATE: April 30, 2004 BY: Cecile - Back at the grove ... with Peter Drew of the National Trust. CATERPILLARS SAVED FROM LANDMOWERS! That's the bottom line. Peter confirmed that the grove should not be accidently mowed down again. We'll be replanting in spots where milkweed did not grow back with National Trust volunteers in the fall. MONARCH MAP AND HEALTH CHART Bermuda monarch health chart - 2007 is under construction. Send a note to MonarchTalk on the location and number of your milkweed and butterfly spottings. We'll log them in! Bermuda monarch distribution map - 2007 is under construction. Send a note to MonarchTalk on the location and number of your milkweed and butterfly spottings. We'll log them in! THE PEOPLE OF BMC We are every child, parent, teacher, butterfly watcher, walker, gardener, landscaper, or naturalist who plants milkweed or spots monarchs in Bermuda. We are the MonarchTalk community and the volunteers of BMC. BMC is made possible by its donors and partners. BMC is advised by: Dr. David Wingate, Past President of the Bermuda Audubon Society Dr. Edward Harris, FSA, MBE, Executive Director of the Bermuda Maritime Museum Cecile Davidson, BMC Director Contact us at butterfly@bermudamonarch.org |
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Stephen and Dan in action at the Maritime Museum. |
Frances and Cecile at the Maritime Museum - with a throusand more seedlings to go! |