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Celebrating the Summer Solstice
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June 2021 Edition
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I hope this finds you in good spirits and health! The time has been flying by. How did it get to be June already?
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At the end of May we completed another step towards becoming a federal nonprofit. We now have an official Board of Directors and I'm now the Executive Director.
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Looking ahead, soon it will be August and that means time for the annual NABA butterfly counts. More information about participating in the counts will be in the July newsletter.
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Our Online Plant Shop is closed this week so that we can focus on preparing for the Open House. If any plants are leftover after Saturday, we may reopen the shop. If we reopen the shop the last day to purchase plants for the season will be June 30th.
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We're pleased to introduce to you the Backyard Butterflies Board of Directors!
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Ellen Brown, President
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An avid gardener most of her life, Ellen first started with vegetables. Never fond of turf, she has preferred to work mostly with what Nature offers which runs the gamut of emotions from frustrating to challenging to delightful and surprising. In 2004 she became a Master Gardener (SW Florida) and simultaneously a member of the newly formed Peace River Butterfly Society in Charlotte Co. for which she served as president for three years. She still contributes monthly articles to their newsletter and serves as editor/proofreader. She has also been a volunteer at the NC Botanical Gardens since 2015. She has an AB in French, an Associate degree in Electrical Engineering, and is a certified Pilates Instructor.
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April Shaw Fort, Secretary
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April Shaw Fort, born April Michelle Shaw on March 14, 1974 in Albemarle, North Carolina is a Senior Manager QA at a leading Clinical Research Organization. April is a motivated, customer-focused Senior Manager with more than 20 years of experience in the clinical research and pharmaceutical industry. Her depth of experience includes advancing quality and regulatory compliance standards/trends, identifying, developing, and executing Quality Risk Management (QRM) strategies and initiatives, overseeing governance and compliance management processes, developing and leading quality and compliance guidance/reference materials and tools while providing expertise to advance the vision of the department. Ms. Fort holds a bachelor’s degree in Biology from the University of North Carolina at Wilmington.
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Christine Myers, Board Member
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Christine Myers, born Christine Marie Bell on June 28, 1962; in Peekskill, NY is currently a Certified Medical Practice Executive (CMPE) residing in Burlington, NC. She has served as Girl Scout Leader, Sunday school teacher, and past President/Board Member of the Triangle Area chapter of Parents Without Partners. Ms. Myers is currently employed by Coronis Health as a Revenue Cycle Specialist. She enjoys spending time with her grandchildren, puttering in her garden, and voraciously reading fiction novels.
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Katherine Ruiz, Board Member
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Katherine Ruiz is currently employed as a social worker but has varied life experiences including working in the horticulture industry and serving in the Peace Corps in Honduras, where she got to experience the magic of Blue Morpho butterflies. She remains enthusiastic about gardening and is working to transform her yard into a vibrant and diverse habitat.
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You're Invited!
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John and I have been busy this week with preparations for this year's milestone 5th Annual Open House & Plant Swap. We're excited to share our habitat with you and the knowledge we've gained to help you with creating, or enhancing, your own backyard butterfly habitat.
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This year we are staffed with expert volunteers to provide butterfly education and assistance with selecting the right host and nectar plants suitable for your growing conditions. We have simplified our check-out process and will have multiple cashiers so you can spend more time interacting with us and our habitat instead of waiting in line.
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Tickets are still available either for free or by donation. Please note that we have limited parking, so please carpool if possible. We expect peak times to be between 11:00 AM to 1:00 PM if you would prefer to attend when it's less busy.
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We look forward to seeing you on Saturday!
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1st instar Pipevine Caterpillars
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We offer Caterpillar Support to those who are in need of host plants, foster care, or adoption of caterpillars.
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There are 20 species of caterpillar that we can provide the host plant for, and we can also provide host plants for some species of moths.
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This program is free of charge. All you need to do is apply letting us know what host plants you need, or if you need us to foster care, adopt your caterpillars, or relocate chrysalises.
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We've had 3 requests this month for support for Monarchs. Please continue to spread the word that we can help!
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Plant Pots Return Request
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We appreciate the return of pots for re-use. Leave them on your porch and we'll collect them when we deliver your next order, or you can drop them off on our porch.
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Coming in July:
- Get ready for the NABA Butterfly Counts in August
- June 19th: Moth Night
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