“On the Wings of a Monarch” Butterfly Program at Blackwater Falls State Park June 24

             “On the Wings of the Monarch,” a special program dedicated to the monarch butterfly, is scheduled at Blackwater Falls at 7 p.m. June 24.  The activity begins at the park’s nature center and concludes with an evening hike to see habitat of West Virginia’s state butterfly, the Monarch. 

            Blackwater Falls State Park, located in Tucker County, offers daily activities for park visitors as well as a 20 percent discount called “Cool Summer Evenings” on mid-week reservations at Blackwater Lodge.  In addition to Blackwater Falls, naturalists at sixteen other West Virginia State Parks and Forests offer nature discovery activities for guests and visitors throughout the summer. 

            The Monarch program at Blackwater Falls coincides with National Pollinator Week, June 22 - 28, which was proclaimed by the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture and a unanimous vote of the U.S. Senate in 2007.

            From the nation’s capitol, the Pollinator Partnership is launching a “Think global; Act local” call-to-action to “Plant for Pollinators.” This National Pollinator Week’s feature is the roll-out of a series of 35 eco-regional guides that, for the first time, match people, place, plant and pollinator by personal zip code.

            Pollinator Week raises public awareness of the importance of birds, bees, bats, beetles, butterflies, moths and flies that are needed to produce 80 percent of our flowering plants and one third of our human food crops.  Planting guides to attract various pollinators, called “Selecting Plants for Pollinators,” are being funded by the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, the C.S. Fund, the Plant Conservation Alliance, the U.S. Bureau of Land Management, and the U.S. Forest Service.

            Wendy Campbell, Conservation Education Coordinator with the Monongahela National Forest, was a guest speaker at the recent W.Va. State Parks training workshop for seasonal naturalists. Her message focused on native plant species and pollinators. Sissie Summers, Programming Administrator for W.Va.  State Parks, said “Campbell encouraged park naturalists to include information about pollinators and their importance as ‘workhorses for the world’ in programs when possible.  Nature programs can introduce new perspective about the importance of beetles, bugs, bats, butterflies, etc. in the natural world.”   

            For free posters celebrating the bounty of bees and pollinator “wheels” developed by the North American Pollinator Protection Campaign in cooperation with the National Academy of Sciences, visit www.pollinator.org .

            For special events and activities at WV State Parks and Forests, go online to www.wvstateparks.com or you may call 1-800 CALL WVA and ask for the specific park or forest you plan to visit this summer for weekly outdoor and environmental activities.