Welcome!

Welcome to the Monarch Project!

The purpose of this project is to establish monarch butterfly habitat on a ten+ acre section of land in Bethel Acres, Oklahoma, just outside of Shawnee.



This ten-acre area is native perennial Oklahoma prairie. It is surrounded on all sides by Cross Timbers hardwood trees. This has the advantage of lessening the likelihood that it will be invaded by the bermuda grass that grows on all of the neighboring land, and makes it less likely to be affected by chemical fertilizers and pesticides that are applied to other properties. Unfortunately, the screen of trees also makes it harder for seed to be carried by the wind to establish new types of plants. Therefore, to increase the number of types of plants that grow here, new seed will have to be brought in.

The property has northern, southern, eastern, and western exposures, and has a deep spring and rain-fed pond just to the north. This combination of features should allow for a variety of plants to do well, and provide a water source for butterflies.

This ten acres, and other acreage around it, already supports antelope horns milkweed. The larger property also has goldenrod, butterfly weed milkweed, swamp milkweed, asters, sumac, Virginia creeper, indian paintbrush, and black-eyed susan, though not in very large numbers. It is hoped that seeds from existing plants can be collected to be dispersed on the selected ten acres.

Redbud trees, hollies, indian blanket, and echinacea do not currently grow on the property, but do grow on neighboring properties, so it is assumed they will do well.

Because the property is remote, watering of new plants will be onerous. Therefore, it would be advantageous for most of the new plants to be established by seeds rather than live plants, as most of the seeds should perform well without watering.

The planting plan involves mowing a narrow strip of the native prairie from east to west toward the southern side of the property, then mowing another strip north to south near the eastern side. As plants grow and mature, seed will spread to the north and west on the wind. Some of the margins of the wooded spaces will also be mowed to allow for the planting of seeds and plants that prefer partly shaded locations - plants like goldenrod, echinacea, and redbud.