SAN JOSE, Calif. — Growing up in California in the ‘80s, I remember being completely mesmerized by the annual Monarch butterfly migration, the undulating magic carpet of bright orange beauties taking wing on the Central Coast. It was breathtaking.
I’ve always wanted my daughter, Daphne, 11, to glimpse that vision, but it’s never been in the cards. For years, Monarch populations have been plummeting, victims of habitat loss, environmental toxins and climate change. Experts say the Western Monarch butterfly population has declined by more than 99 percent since the heyday of the 1980s.
So instead, the two of us have dutifully planted milkweed and other native plants in the backyard, doing our part to try and keep the California icon off the extinction list, with very little luck. They may call it a weed, but it sure doesn’t grow like one.
