Mexico & Monarchs

Lisa and Chris Garrett will discuss their recent bucket-list trip to Michoacán, Mexico, to visit the El Rosario Biosphere Reserve, the largest of the Monarch Butterfly overwintering roosts, with over 5 million butterflies this past winter. Gloomy reports of the monarch butterfly’s survival are in the news. Naturalist Lisa Bierer-Garrett and Park Ranger Christopher Garrett will put a positive spin on the news by describing how local folks can do their part to help monarchs and all butterfly species in their own neighborhood garden patch. Discover how planting your garden with milkweeds and other nectar-rich plants help this colony survive. One person can make a difference! The presenters will have photos of birds and butterflies seen on the trip, as well as some of the amazing archaeological sites they visited.

About the lecturers

Lisa Bierer-Garrett is currently the Director of Eco-Tourism for the town of North Beach in Calvert County. Previously, she served as a Park Naturalist with M-NCPPC, leading programs in Prince George’s County parks. She earned certification as a Maryland Master Naturalist at the American Chestnut Land Trust site. Lisa is an active butterfly and monarch researcher, participating in Monarch Butterfly tagging, annual butterfly counts, as well as bird counts, including Project Feeder Watch. Lisa is a long-time member of PGAS and serves on the PGAS Board of Directors. Chris Garrett is a Park Ranger with M-NCPPC parks in Prince George’s County. He is also a talented musician. Together, Chris and Lisa enjoy traveling and enjoying the wonders of the natural world.

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PGAS monthly programs are held on the second Tuesday of each month, September through June, in partnership with the Patuxent Bird Club, a chapter of the Maryland Ornithological Society. There are no programs scheduled in July or August. PGAS members are encouraged to attend monthly meetings and non-members are always welcome.

The formal program always begins at 7:30 pm, but doors open at 7:00 for informal conversation, refreshments, and exchange of birding news.  Each program opens with brief statements from leaders of both clubs about upcoming events, items of interest and other club business, followed by the featured speaker with a question-and-answer period afterwards.

The programs are held at the College Park Airport Operations Building, 1909 Corporal Frank Scott Drive, College Park, MD.