Consider Giving this Gift

Creation does not wait for an occasion to gift us with its treasurers. We receive them constantly as things necessary for us to thrive on planet earth. They are the air we breathe, the water we drink, the food we eat and the beauty that feeds our spirits. Appreciation, gratitude and respect is all that is required from us. 

We love giving and receiving gifts. Here’s one to consider. We can show the Creator’s generosity our gratitude by caring for one of its creatures, the splendidly arrayed Monarch Butterfly, a gift more precious than anything one can buy anywhere. Their display of brilliantly colored wings is a joy to behold while they briefly stop by our gardens to use as way stations to perform the miracle of reproducing themselves using milkweed, the only source of food for the monarch caterpillars that are transformed into butterflies.

Did you know that Monarch butterflies travel as far as 3,000 miles over several generations on their journey to escape the cold of winter, migrating from Canada to Mexico? The Monarch Butterfly Way Station of milk weed plants I maintain at Shem Center was until recently a gathering place for a multitude of these wonderful creatures. But during the past summer I saw only two of them. Because of pesticides and the loss of milkweed, they have declined by more than 80% in the eastern U.S., and  by more than 90% in western states? 

Because we have seen species recover after receiving protections under the Endangered Species Act, which overall has a success rate of 99% at preventing extinction. Your gift in any amount will help save the Monarch Butterfly in North America. 

I will be happy to send you some Shem Center Milkweed seeds to plant in your garden or to to simply release into the wind to find their way into some unknown garden spot. 

— Joseph Kilikevice

Please use the following link:

Will you make a donation to help save the monarch butterfly in North America?