ANDOVER — A member of the River Valley Healthy Communities Coalition will inform residents of the recent decline in the monarch butterfly population at the inaugural Monarch Butterfly and Milkweed Festival.

Coalition member Carol Emery said the festival will run in conjunction with the 35th annual Andover Olde Home Days, scheduled for Friday, July 31, to Sunday, Aug. 2.

“I came up with the idea to do a festival, not only as a way to give families and kids more to do at the Andover Olde Home Days, but to highlight the fact that our monarch butterfly population is dwindling,” Emery said. “Monarch butterflies used to be everywhere, but it seems like we’re not seeing as many as we used to see.”

The festival will include a play performed by Andover students, and a storybook walk along a path that stretches from the Andover Fire Station to the Andover Elementary School.

Emery said the play will feature Andover children dressed up as monarch butterflies, and will “show why their numbers are decreasing so fast, and how we can help solve the problem.”

“A lot of people don’t know this, but monarch butterflies are actually being considered for inclusion on the endangered species list,” Emery said.

She said a major reason their numbers are decreasing is the decline of milkweed in the area.

“Milkweed is necessary for monarch butterflies to lay eggs, and caterpillars only eat milkweed plants,” Emery said. “The problem is, we’re killing off the milkweed in the area, and it’s causing problems with the monarch population.”

The play will be performed at noon Saturday, Aug. 1, at the Andover Town Hall stage. A donation can will be left out during the performance, with half of the proceeds going to the Andover Elementary School and the other half going to a monarch rescue organization.

The festival will also feature a walk along a trail lined with 18 story panels. Each panel will have part of a larger story involving monarch butterflies.

mdaigle@sunmediagroup.net

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