Author: wgcblogger

WHEREAS, the City of Wheaton, located in north eastern Illinois, has long been on the annual monarch butterfly’s migration route of thousands of miles from Mexico to Canada and has provided monarch caterpillars with native milkweed species, their sole source of food; and

WHEREAS, the Wheaton City Code allows native landscaping which reduces storm water, emissions and pesticide/fertilizer run off and provides wildlife corridors; and

WHEREAS, Illinois designated the iconic monarch butterfly as the official state insect in 1975 as the result of lobbying by Illinois schoolchildren; and

WHEREAS, scientific studies point to the rapid decline of the monarch butterfly due to the loss of milkweed habitat needed to lay their eggs and for their caterpillars to eat, resulting from development, land management practices, and chemically-aided agriculture in the United States and Canada; and

WHEREAS, because the decimation of pollinators, including the North American monarch, which serves as an iconic species, has potential negative consequences for natural ecosystems, as well as for human food production, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is currentl y studying the species to determine if it should be listed under the Endangered Species Act; and

WHEREAS, on a national level, conservation organizations such as the National Wildlife Federation and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service have undertaken efforts to reinvigorate milkweed and ot her nectar-producing plant s to help restore monarch habitat in open spaces a nd suburban and urban gardens; and

WHEREAS, because there are many different species of milkweed in the U.S., it is important to recognize that on l y native milkweed is vital to the restoration and survival of the monarch habitat in Illinois; and

WHEREAS, DuPage County Forest Preserve District, Ri ver Prairie Group of the Sierra Club, The Conservation Foundation and Wild Ones of Greater DuPage, a native plant advocacy group, are encouraging commu nities to plant native milkweed and valuable nectar plants where appropriate;

NOW, THEREFORE, I, Michael J. Gresk, do hereby proclaim the month of May to be Monarch Butterfly Month in Wheaton, direct the City to reduce the use of pesticides on City-owned land and encourage residents to create monarch way stations by purchasing attractive, site appropriate milkweed species for residential landscaping and protect pollinators by the reduction of pesticide use on residential , commercial and City owned property.

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Adopted this 151 day of May 2017.

A message from the NGC President

To all GCI members: This message came from our NGC President and we felt it was worth sharing!!

FROM: Sandy Robinson, President
DATE: April 27, 2017
SUBJECT: Milkweed
It has been brought to my attention that some “Big Stores” have been selling Milkweed plants that have been treated with systemic Neonicotinoids. This will kill caterpillars! Please, be aware and be on the lookout for these tags placed in plants. Please pass this information along to your garden club members!
See the below letter and picture I received from Mary Ellen Miller explaining the situation:
Dear Sandy, I know you are busy ending your term. We, in New Orleans, just hosted the Deep South and LGCF Conventions, but this needs immediate attention.
I purchased a Milkweed plant from Home Depot near my home and it wasn’t until I got home that I noticed the little information stick hidden behind the identification information that the plant had been treated with systemic Neonicotinoids. The container boasted how desirable the plant is for birds and butterflies. Yesterday I went to a different Home Depot and they had just put out an entire rolling cart of these plants, maybe about 100, all poisoned. I contacted the store manager and told him that it is the same as giving poison candy to kids on Halloween. This is THE host plant for the Monarch. My club, Shady Oaks and our junior club, Little Shadows have worked so hard to establish a Monarch Waystation and to educate people on the decline of the Monarch. I hate to think of the millions of poison Milkweed being distributed nationwide by Home Depot.
The container says distributed by Home Depot, 2455 Paces Ferry Rd N. W., Atlanta , Georgia.
I contacted the LSU Ag Agent for New Orleans, Dr Joe Willis. He said the Neonicotinoids will dilute as the plants grow but that only a very small amount will kill the larva of the Monarch. He is contacting the Master Gardeners of the area. I contacted the newsletters of the Jefferson Parish Council of Garden Clubs and the Federated Council of New Orleans Garden Clubs to ask that they send a notice to our local members. I contacted a local GOA club and the president said she would inform her members. I contacted our LGCF President and our Environmental School Chairman with the information.
We need a notice to Home Depot from a national source. I contacted the Monarch Watch organization ,www.MonarchWatch.org/ws at the University of Kansas (1200 Sunnyside Avenue, Lawrence, KS 66045) . The Little Shadows Junior Garden Club registered our Monarch Waystation with them.
Sandy we need a response from NGC to this issue. It needs to be sent soon as these plants are being sold now to well meaning people who are wanting to help the Monarch not kill them. I know you are very busy but I hate to think of the billions of plants being sold nationwide and how that will cancel the efforts of so many to stop the demise of the Monarch. Could you please help?
Mary Ellen Miller
Shady Oaks Garden Club , LGCF District II
Moderator Little Shadows Junior Garden Club
Immediate Past President Federated Council of New Orleans Garden Clubs Inc.

As always we use this form of contact to reach as many of our members as we can in between issues of our award winning magazine
Garden Glories

This lovely Air Plant themed gift basket, designed by our members Laura Christensen and Cheryl Weber will be auctioned off at the GCI Luncheon as part of their fundraising efforts.