HUNTINGTON BEACH, CALIF. -- Festival Celebrates Monarchs & More

By C. MacDonald

The annual Spring Festival at Huntington Beach's Shipley Nature Center recently featured a Maypole Dance; parade; saving water, recycling, and understanding butterflies, including how to save the Monarchs.

Outside on the beautiful trail in the 18-acre paradise at Central Park, 17851 Goldenwest St., butterflies flew from plant to plant. Inside the special Butterfly House, kids were able to get real close to a colorful Painted Lady, Buckeye and Monarch to see them eating nectar juice from a watermelon.

"After the event, kids are selected to release each butterfly," explained Joe Cruz, who with his son, Joe, wife Priscilla and friend, Bette Shilling, were helping educate future generations on the need to understand and help butterflies survive.

"Because of development, there's less milkweed around, which is the food of the Monarch butterflies. The Monarchs lay eggs on the milkweed, caterpillars hatch and eat the leaf and eventually become a chrysalis before a new butterfly enters the world," said Priscilla, whose group is named "Western Monarch Guardians."

"It's important for people to plant milkweed to help increase the declining Monarch population," she said. "You also can help by planting nectar plants, such as Zinnias, Marigolds, Garden Petunias, Daises, Lantana, Sunflowers and Lillies. Butterflies love them!"

She said you can help even more by having moist areas of sand or mud for butterfly puddle spots. "Monarchs go into the mud to get their minerals," explained Joe.

Leslie Gilson, Restoration Coordinator at the nearby Gibbs Monarch Butterfly Park, said Monarchs are declining throughout the country, so "the planting of milkweed is critical. We all can help bring them back."

Some Monarchs migrate from the north to the south from October through March and they often stop at wintering sites. Scientists think they are equipped with genetic homing systems that lead them from their Summer sites in the Sierra, Florida, Canada and the Great Lakes Region to their Winter locations.

Some of the California Winter Roosts include:

• FREMONT--Ardenwood Historic Farms, in the North Woods, between the railroad tracks and the north fence boundary.
• SANTA CRUZ-Natural Bridges State Beach.
• PACIFIC GROVE-Monarch Grove Sanctuary, near Monterey.
• BIG SUR-Andrew Molera State Park, from the Environmental Campground to Cooper's Cabin.
• MORRO BAY-State Park near Campsite 116
• PISMO BEACH-State Beach, south end of North Beach Campground.
• SANTA BARBARA-Ellwood Grove
• VENTURA-Camino Real Park
• MALIBU-Point Mugu State Park, Big Sycamore Canyon.
• LONG BEACH-El Dorado Nature Center
• HUNTINGTON BEACH-Gibbs Butterfly Park on Graham, across from Meadowlark Golf Course
• SAN CLEMENTE-State Beach
• SAN DIEGO-UCSD, La Jolla Shores Drive at Azul Street.

(For more information on Monarchs, visit monarchwatch.org and journeynorth.org. Western Monarch Guardians can be reached by emailing Joe and Priscilla at jcp@jcpenterprises.com.)

Shipley Nature Center has had a major rebirth since the all-volunteer Friends of Shipley took over running the awesome place from the city in 2003. They painstakingly got rid of non-native plants.

"Bringing the habitat back to its native state was the biggest thing that's happened here," said one of the 40 volunteers, Shipley Vice President Tom Livengood. "Trails had disappeared and we had a lot of issues. Boy Scouts helped build wooden seats for the amphitheater, electrical/carpenter and iron worker unions donated time and their skills. (Be sure and see the iron worker's beautiful sculptured metal entrance gate.)

Hike on the trail around Shipley. You'll see Demonstration Gardens, Coastal Live Oaks, California Coastal Redwoods, Blackbird Pond, Willow Wetlands, Torrey Pine/Chaparrals, Freeman Creek, a Native American habitat (Indians used to live here), and numerous types of wildlife.

During the festival, Mayor Pro-Tem Joe Shaw enjoyed looking at all the native plants. "Some of these types of plants are for sale here so you can start your own water-wise garden at home," he said.

Sylvia Franklin and Lenica Castner of HB Public Works, were showing people ways to save water. "We're the number one city, for our population size, in the National Mayor's Challenge for Water Conservation," Castner said. "Please go to mywaterpledge.com and tell how you're saving water. It will help save the environment, help keep us #1 and you might win a Prius Plug-in!"

Jim Sankey hosted a display from Rainbow Environmental Services and was telling folks about how easy it is to reduce, reuse and recycle.

To get away from urban stress or to enjoy nature with your family, we recommend you visit Shipley as much as you can. Bravo to everyone who has helped or is still helping preserve this incredible paradise. To find out more about the fabulous Shipley Nature Center, which is being used as a model by other cities, go to shipleynature.org or call 714-842-4772. .