Monarch Butterfly Hillside Habitat

Each year, ELNOS runs a bursary program for graduating high school students to support their post-secondary education. The caliber of applications we receive each year are so impressive that our Bursary Committee spends much time reviewing and debating who will receive each of the 6 bursaries.

As part of the bursary application, students are required to submit an essay outlining their future plans and how the ELNOS region has helped to shape their career goals. This year, as one of our team members was reviewing the applications to send to the Board, she discovered an interesting project undertaken by a student in Elliot Lake.

During the pandemic lockdown, Rhianna Goymer discovered a monarch butterfly habitat on Hillside Drive South on a vacant lot beside the Elliot Lake Animal Hospital. She began to study the monarch butterfly and started tracking their migration from Elliot Lake to Mexico. Rhianna discovered that the Monarch butterfly is an endangered species. She put up ‘do not mow’ signs at the vacant lot in hopes that the owner would not mow the milkweed plants — the monarch caterpillar’s only source of food.

As our team member, Becky, was reading Rhianna’s essay, she knew the exact spot and often thought how awful the lot looked with the weeds growing, unaware that it was actually a really special place. Thinking that other people in the community may feel the same way, she thought ELNOS might be able to help Rhianna to not only preserve the spot, but raise awareness of the Monarch butterfly.

In partnership with Rhianna and the City of Elliot Lake, ELNOS helped to ensure the property would not be mowed, and a plaque has been erected to mark the location for all residents to enjoy. As people pass this lot, we hope they won’t just see a bunch of weeds growing, but the efforts of one of our young people preserving another species. We hope you will stop by the plaque to learn about the monarch butterfly.

If you would like to grow your own milkweed plants, please drop by the ELNOS office to pick up a packet of seeds. Please note, milkweed can be toxic to pets and humans if consumed.

For more information on the ELNOS bursary, click here.

For more information on the Hillside Habitat, click here.