Following up on last fall’s Monarch Butterfly Project, we are elated to report that last Saturday several members of Trinity’s Creation Care Ministry worked alongside other concerned members of the community to plant 500 Milkweed Plants. This plant helps protect and conserve the compromised Monarch Butterfly population.
North Texas is a stopover point for Monarch butterflies during their annual migration. However, due to growth and development, the density of pollinator plants has disappeared causing a massive decrease in population. This concerns all of us since the health of our food supply relies on pollinators.
The Monarch Pledge
This past February 20, Mayor George Fuller signed the National Wildlife Federation’s Mayors’ Monarch Pledge designating McKinney, Texas a Monarch friendly city. This decision began with the intentional efforts of Trinity members Liz, Jeff and JJ Hanrahan. They mounted an educational campaign and gathered letters to bring awareness to the congregation and the larger community to urge city leaders to acknowledge the problem and step up to action. This pledge helped our city enter the NWF’s Leadership Circle. And as part of the pledge, McKinney committed to allocate more open space to plant pollinator plants such as milkweed.
Planting Milkweed in McKinney
Monarch caterpillars need milkweed plants to grow and develop into butterflies. Hence, with the help of a milkweed grant, McKinney’s Community Center organized a milkweed planting day. Led by Liz Hanrahan, some members of the TPC congregation joined the City of McKinney to plant milkweed. This effort supports the creation of a habitat for Monarch butterflies. Now, with 500 more milkweed plants in the ground, we will hopefully begin to see a larger population of pollinators in the area. This is one of the many earth friendly initiatives the Creation Care Ministry leads at Trinity Presbyterian Church in McKinney, Texas. Learn more about how you can participate in their efforts by visiting the Creation Care web page. Trinity Cares for Creation!
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[…] This means these churches have completed activities and projects in the fields of worship, education, facilities and outreach as they relate to green initiatives – and that the congregations continue to build on their efforts each and every year. For Trinity Presbyterian Church in McKinney, this includes recent sales of metal straws to encourage members to refrain from using plastic ones, as well as the congregation’s Monarch Butterfly Project. […]