Residents at Cerenity Senior Care had the pleasure of watching caterpillars turn into butterflies in their own monarch garden. “We planted [milkweed] early July, and in August, we had caterpillars. A female monarch or several had come and used these little seedlings to lay eggs on,” says Helen Gehrenbeck—a previous employee who worked alongside retired ecologist Robert Djupstrom to put in the garden last year.
The residents kept caterpillars in their room and released them when the time was appropriate. “The elders, in a way, are a lot more concerned about the environment and protecting it and having monarchs for generations to come,” says Gehrenbeck.
The milkweed has already been planted this year, and the caterpillars should be showing up early in July, which should make for a fun and flight-filled summer.
