SFA Gardens Lecture to Feature Rise and Fall of the Monarch Migration

Lecture to feature the rise and fall of the monarch migration SFA Gardens will host the monthly Theresa and Les Reeves Lecture Series at 7 p.m. January 9th in the Ina Brundrett Conservation Education Building at the Pineywoods Native Plant Center, 2900 Raguet St., Nacogdoches. Monika Maeckle, founder of the Texas Butterfly Ranch and San Antonio’s Monarch Butterfly and Pollinator Festival, will discuss “Monarch Migration-Its Rise and Fall.” Monika Maeckle is a longtime journalist and nature writer based in San Antonio, Texas. She graduated from the University of Texas at Austin with an American Studies degree, and applies a holistic lens to all her endeavors. For years she has worked to raise awareness of monarch butterflies, pollinators, native plants and the ecosystems that sustain them–and us. Maeckle is the author of “The Monarch Butterfly Migration: Its Rise and Fall.” She will be available to sign books at the lecture, and books will be available for purchase. Maeckle enjoys butterflies, bees and native plants in her mariposario and urban garden and at her family's Llano River ranch. She’s led countless nature expeditions for family members, friends, visiting scientists and documentary filmmakers at the ranch, where monarchs roost each fall. She, her family and friends have tagged thousands of monarch butterflies, more than 60 of which have been recovered from the forest floor in the Mexican mountains. Maeckle worked closely with the National Wildlife Federation to convince the city of San Antonio to sign the NWF Mayor’s Monarch Pledge in 2015, resulting in San Antonio’s status as the nation’s first Monarch Butterfly Champion City. The Festival she started, with the help of many volunteers and community collaborators, draws thousands of visitors. Social impact media site Nationswell profiled the Festival in a 12-minute documentary and named it “Outstanding Solution of 2018.” In 2022, Texas Coop Magazine profiled Maeckle in a cover story titled “Monarch Matriarch.” Maeckle also led a local pollinator habitat initiative in 2018 to create 300 pollinator habitats for San Antonio’s 300th birthday. After exceeding its 2018 goal, the initiative expanded beyond San Antonio, reaching 500 pollinator habitats by 2020 and now boasts more than 1,080 gardens pledged. The Theresa and Les Reeves Lecture Series is held the second Thursday of each month and includes a plant raffle after the program. The lecture is free and open to the public and donations to the lecture series fund are always appreciated. Parking is available at the PNPC, 2900 Raguet Street, or Raguet Elementary School, 2708 Raguet Street. For more information, call (936) 468-4129 or email sfagardens@sfasu.edu.