Broken Arrow officially designated a Monarch City USA city

The Monarch City USA Program has officially recognized the City of Broken Arrow for its efforts to increase the butterfly population.

Broken Arrow joins more than 19,000 other municipalities committed to sustaining the butterfly population for a healthy ecosystem. Two signs are now in place commemorating the announcement, one at Aspen Avenue and Jasper Street, and another at the Broken Arrow Expressway and Elm Place exit.

Due to environmental changes, the butterfly population is decreasing worldwide. To address these concerns, the City is taking proactive steps to create habitats for butterflies to thrive. Currently, there are more than 10 registered monarch waystations at various locations throughout the city.

The Broken Arrow Parks and Recreation Department is encouraging residents to plant private milkweed and nectar gardens. To help residents get started, the City has given away more than 1,000 milkweed seed packs over the last three years.

Whether it’s a field, roadside area, open area, wet area, or urban garden, milkweed and flowering plants are needed for monarch habitats. According to the USDA, adult monarchs feed on the nectar of many flowers, but they breed only where milkweeds are found.

The Parks department also plants native pollinators throughout the City’s park gardens and has been actively converting abandoned lands into monarch butterfly habitats.

“Many butterflies have a single plant required as a food source for their larval form called a host plant. Milkweed is the host plant for the monarch butterfly. Without milkweed, the larva would not be able to develop into a butterfly. Monarchs use a variety of milkweeds,” according to the U.S. Forrest Service.

The Parks Department is also working with educators and local school systems to encourage understanding of conservation practices.

For example, at Tiger Creek Nature Park, the City has a partnership with Broken Arrow Public Schools to teach and promote land use conservation. Pollinator Bio Blitz classes are also held at Ray Harral Nature Center to teach residents how they can help continue the butterfly population.

For more information on the Broken Arrow Monarch Movement, go to  https://www.brokenarrowok.gov/our-city/community-programs.