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Community Corner

Kids Catch Critters at Rushton Farm

Did you know Monarch butterflies migrate to Mexico?

Nine pint-sized explorers gathered at Rushton Farm in Willistown on Wednesday night in search of butterflies.

Rushton Farm is the Chester County center for the Pennsylvania Young Birders Club. As bird migration season draws near, Wednesday's "Monarch Madness" event let kids explore the migration patterns of a different species: Monarch butterflies.

The kids built some butterfly headgear—to aid in catching the butterflies, of course—then learned about Monarch butterflies, which are one of the few species besides birds to make annual southern migrations. The butterflies head south in August, arriving in Mexico right around November's Day of the Dead celebrations—so in Mexico, they are associated with the return of lost souls, according to Willistown Conservation Trust intern Blake Goll.

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Likely due to the wind and cooler weather on Wednesday, no Monarchs—who like hot, windless days—were spotted. The Young Birders did, however, get to learn about migration patterns through a relay race that helped them to understand how it takes three generations for the butterflies to complete their migration. The children also set free a butterfly that Goll had captured earlier in the day. They explore fields full of milkweed—the Monarchs' favorite food, which makes them taste bad to other animals—and used nets to look for other insects.

The Young Birders Club is a state-wide effort to get kids ages 8-18 interested in nature, associate stewardship manager at Willistown Conservation Trust Lisa Kiziuk said. There are 29 kids signed up through WCT.

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"This age group is so easily engaged—so the goal is to get them involved in outdoor activities while they're still young," Kiziuk said.

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