Master gardener volunteers and local students will assemble at multiple sites to participate in the Butterfly Project this spring. In this submitted file photo is a group from a previous year of the Butterfly Project.
Submitted photo
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The 2024 Champaign County Master Gardeners Volunteers County-wide Butterfly Project began April 11 and continues through May 24 in the local schools and other educational entities.
The project provides education and firsthand experiences to over 1,500 Champaign County youth, 18 sites, and in 45 classrooms, ranging in ages from preschool to third grade.
The youth will experience the life cycle of the Painted Lady Butterfly in their classrooms, county libraries and in many childcare programs including the Head Start center-based program. Each setting is provided with five caterpillar larvae and food that will hopefully develop into adult butterflies in four weeks.
In addition, each child is provided with a six-page, colored, age-appropriate, educational research-based Butterfly booklet, designed by Champaign County Master Gardener Volunteers, and a seed packet to have the opportunity to plant a perennial wildflower home butterfly habitat.
This project is being funded by Champaign County Master Gardener Volunteers, the Champaign County OSU Extension Service, the Champaign Soil and Water Conservation District, Citicom (printing company from Columbus), and private donors, Mr. and Mrs. Bob Corbett.
Champaign County Master Gardener Volunteers, a division of The Champaign County OSU Extension Service, invites anyone interested in joining CCMGV to contact the OSU Extension Office at 937-772-6020 to become a member.
Submitted by Champaign County Master Gardeners
