Jamestown, N.Y. Audubon Community Nature Center has four opportunities for you to learn how to raise the beautiful Monarch Butterfly.

Raising Monarch Caterpillars programs for adults and children 9 and older are scheduled on  

  • Wednesday, August 12, 6-7:30 p.m.
  • Wednesday, August 26, 6-7:30 p.m.
  • Tuesday, September 1, 5-6:30 p.m.

A Raising Monarchs Family Program is planned for those with younger children on Thursday, August 27, 10-11 a.m.

This is your chance  to learn how to find and raise Monarch Butterflies as they change from egg to larva to pupa, then finally emerge as adults.

The presentation and hands-on experience will begin indoors, where you will go through all the basics of how to care for and raise butterflies, as well as how to find them. After experiencing the different parts of the Monarch life cycle, you will go on a short walk to look for signs of Monarchs in Audubon’s milkweed patch.

The Family program meets outside in the Stephanie Frucella Education pavilion. It is shorter than the others and will be less technical. 

Because of COVID, face coverings are required for all participants ages 3 and up for indoor programs and for outdoor programs where participants cannot maintain six feet of distance between family groups. 

The fee for the ages 9+ programs is $12 for adults, $9 for Nature Center members and children ages 9-15. The fee for the Family program is $8 for adults, $6 for Nature Center members and children ages 3-15, and free for children 2 and under. 

Space is limited and paid reservations are required by the day before each program. You can reserve your place by calling (716) 569-2345 during business hours (9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday, 9-3 p.m. Saturdays) or by going to AudubonCNC.org/Programs and clicking on “Current Schedule.” 

Courier Capital LLC is the sponsor of these and the many other events that replace Audubon’s annual Monarch Butterfly Festival, cancelled because of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Go to AudubonCNC.org/Programs and click on “Current Schedule” to learn about the Butterfly Plant Sale, Monarchs A – Z, Creating a Butterfly Haven, and Meet the Monarchs.

Audubon Community Nature Center is located at 1600 Riverside Road, one-quarter mile east of Route 62 between Jamestown, N.Y., and Warren, Pa. While the Nature Center building is not open for walk-in visitors just yet, you are welcome to visit the 600-acre nature preserve from dawn to dusk daily. Enjoy the native tree arboretum, gardens, picnic area, and six miles of trails, and view Liberty, Audubon’s non-releasable Bald Eagle, while practicing safe social distancing measures. 

To learn more about Audubon and its many programs, call (716) 569-2345 during business hours, visit AudubonCNC.org, or find Audubon Community Nature Center on Facebook.

Audubon Community Nature Center builds and nurtures connections between people and nature by providing positive outdoor experiences, opportunities to learn about and understand the natural world, and knowledge to act in environmentally responsible ways.

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