Crossroads at Big Creek Hosts Monarch Tagging Workshop

The migration of the monarch is considered one of the great natural phenomena in the world. Photo by Len Villano.

Sept. 10 is Grandparents Day and Crossroads at Big Creek is celebrating the day with their annual monarch tagging event. This is a wonderful learning adventure for multigenerational families (though interested individuals of all ages are welcome).

Guest naturalist Karen Newbern will present a lively program for learners of all ages in the lecture hall of the Collins Learning Center. After an indoor introduction on the Monarch lifecycle, she will distribute nets for butterfly collecting for the tag/release activity.

They hope to tag butterflies that hatched and developed in Door County and also monarchs migrating from points north. The butterflies tagged at Crossroads, incredibly, will fly to Mexico for the winter and there is a remote chance that researchers will recover one of the Crossroads tagged monarchs and notify them. The program is free and open to the public.

The Friday film for the week is also about monarchs. The screening begins at 2 pm, Sept. 8. This documentary features the migrations of monarch butterflies from their overwintering habitat in Mexico through their summer breeding sites. It’s free and open to the public.

Crossroads at Big Creek is made up of three properties: Ida Bay, The Cove, and the Big Creek Preserves. The Collins Learning Center, located at 2041 Michigan Street, is open 2 – 4:30 pm daily and during scheduled programs. Restrooms and trails are always open.