Over the last few years, a North Jersey Girl Scout has turned a pandemic project into a statewide effort to promote awareness for monarch butterflies as well as protect and improve wildlife habitats in her town and around the state.

The monarch butterfly, according to the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, is the most iconic butterfly in North America. Monarchs hold scientific and environmental value as well as economic and cultural value in Canada, the United States and Mexico.

Tourists once flocked to Cape May to see the monarchs fly through New Jersey on their annual fall migration to Mexico. However, over several decades, the monarch population has steeply declined.

Monarch butterflies are currently listed by the NJDEP as a species of interest.

During the pandemic in 2020, Elizabeth Gillen, 17, of Mountain Lakes joined a competition with her friends to improve something within the community. Although it was challenging as much of life was still virtual, they decided to turn to social media and connect with butterfly enthusiasts around the state.

The group created a Facebook page called Morris Monarchs and shared a survey in online gardening groups, offering free milkweed seeds to anyone who wanted to plant them before the winter of 2021.

Milkweed is vital to monarch butterflies as it is the only plant upon which monarch caterpillars can live and feed, according to the NJDEP.

Over 1,000 people responded, and Gillen and her friends began sending out seeds and tracking the seeds’ location on a map. This effort won them first place in New Jersey in the competition.

As June 2023 approached, it was time for Gillen to start working on her gold award, the most prestigious award that a Girl Scout can receive.

“My gold award was a natural continuation of the seed giveaway,” said Gillen, who is a senior at the Morris County School of Technology. “I wanted to continue to raise awareness for monarch butterflies.”

In obtaining her gold award, Gillen worked with Mountain Lakes local leadership to connect the borough with the National Wildlife Federation’s Mayors’ Monarch Pledge. According to the National Wildlife Federation’s website, by taking the pledge you are “committing to both restore habitat in your community and encourage your residents to do the same.”

Mountain Lakes Mayor Khizar Sheikh signed the pledge in 2023.

Gillen also connected the borough to the National Wildlife Federation’s Community Wildlife Habitats program, which partners with “communities of all kinds to become healthier, sustainable, and more wildlife friendly.” Gillen is the community manager for the Mountain Lakes Certified Wildlife Community.

“I am fortunate that Mountain Lakes is a borough that has a strong history of protecting wildlife and maintaining the natural beauty of the area,” said Gillen. “Everyone I approached in the borough supported my proposal.”

October is Monarch Butterflies Month in New Jersey

Another goal that Gillen set out to accomplish while obtaining her gold award was to dedicate a month to monarch butterflies in New Jersey.

“I researched existing town and county proclamations for monarchs across … I could not find any state dedicating a month to monarchs and wanted New Jersey to be the first,” said Gillen.

At the beginning of the year, Gillen wrote a detailed letter to Gov. Phil Murphy, sharing what she had accomplished with her friends during the pandemic and the work she has been doing since then in Mountain Lakes.

She described how a proclamation would complement the many existing conservation efforts in the state by New Jersey Fish and Wildlife, the New Jersey Audubon, and many other organizations dedicated to preserving land for the benefit of native plants and insects like the monarch.

Gillen submitted her request to the state in early 2024 and it was signed by Murphy on Sept. 13, proclaiming October of 2024 as Monarch Butterflies Month in New Jersey.

“I hope New Jersey’s proclamation inspires monarch lovers in other states to request similar proclamations. Proclamations show symbolic support for monarchs and raises awareness of their importance,” said Gillen, who hopes that her project will help create more appreciation for monarchs and other pollinators and will encourage people to experience monarchs first-hand.

Gillen was awarded her gold award in August.

Going forward, Gillen plans to continue managing her Facebook pages, Morris Monarchs and Mountain Lakes Wildlife, and connecting with butterfly enthusiasts.

She will be giving away milkweed seeds to plant through the end of October. If you are interested, you can contact girlscoutgold7707@gmail.com.

Monarch butterfly population in decline

Monarch butterflies have a large habitat range, according to the NJDEP, spanning across the entire North American continent.

In the Garden State, they are among the group of native pollinators that assist in the reproduction of crops, playing a crucial role in the success of New Jersey’s agriculture and economy.

Every fall, migratory monarch butterflies fly through the state on their trek to Mexico for the winter, stopping in Cape May to rest before continuing their journey across the Delaware Bay.

“Cape May, New Jersey is a crucial stopover for monarch butterflies during their migration. Cape May is perfectly situated along the monarchs’ migration path,” said Suzanne Tilton, also known as the Butterfly Lady. “The peninsula acts like a natural funnel at the southern tip of New Jersey, drawing thousands of butterflies as they travel from Canada to Mexico.”

Cape May is home to the New Jersey Audubon’s Monarch Monitoring Project, which has been tracking and studying monarchs for over three decades, helping scientists understand their migration patterns and the challenges that they face.

Unfortunately, monarchs currently face many challenges including habitat loss, extreme weather, predators, toxic pesticides and climate change, which have all taken a toll on fragile populations, according to the New Jersey Audubon.

“The destruction of milkweed plants, which are essential for monarch caterpillars, is a significant threat. Urban development and agricultural practices, especially the use of herbicides, have reduced the availability of milkweed which is the only plant monarchs use to lay their eggs,” said Tilton. “Changes in climate affect the migratory patterns and breeding grounds of monarchs.”

She continued, “Extreme weather events and shifting temperatures can disrupt their life cycle and migration routes. Perfect example is Hurricane Helene wreaking damage along important migrating routes monarchs use along the Appalachian Mountains.”

Tilton also pointed out the fact that pesticides, particularly neonicotinoids can be harmful to monarchs, killing them or reducing the availability of nectar plants and milkweed.

Finally, Tilton said that deforestation in their wintering grounds in Central Mexico reduces the areas that monarchs cluster for warmth and protection.

According to the NJDEP, the monarch population is estimated to have declined some 90% between 1990 and 2014, dropping from approximately one billion butterflies to 35 million butterflies.

“The monarch is an umbrella species, it tells us how other pollinators are struggling,” said Tilton. “The monarch butterfly is a great indicator, and we need to start paying attention. If the monarch butterfly is struggling, other pollinators and insects are struggling too.”

According to Tilton, the most important thing that people can do to help is to create a habitat in their yards for monarchs by planting milkweed for the caterpillars and flowers for the adults to feed on. It is also extremely important to stop using pesticides in our gardens.

“People need to realize the importance of protecting and creating habitat for monarchs,” said Tilton. “Projects like Lizzie’s help bring awareness to the public.”