Monarch Marvels wanted for Festival
The Dade City Garden Club is looking to recruit enthusiastic, nature-loving youth to participate in the newly launched youth leadership program, Monarch Marvels. Participants from Grades 4-8 will attend a 3-part workshop at the Pasco County Hugh Embry Library to prepare to serve as Monarch Project ambassadors at the upcoming Monarch Butterfly Festival, scheduled for Saturday, October 26, 2024, from 10 am to 4 pm at Touchton Park and the Dade City Garden Club.
The Dade City Monarch Project was created as a community effort to support the City’s designation as a Monarch City USA and is celebrated at the annual Monarch Butterfly Festival held each October. Its goal is to engage the public through environmental awareness and conservation efforts at a signature event designed to bring together all segments of the community working together toward a common goal.
“It has always been our Vision to include youth as a key component of our educational efforts” said Joan Hepscher, Chair of the 2024 Monarch Butterfly Festival. “Through a generous grant from the Community Foundation Tampa Bay to support the Festival, we are able to offer Monarch Marvels as an opportunity for our youth to learn the plight of the Monarch, recognize the importance of Dade City’s designation as a Monarch City USA, identify strategies to increase public awareness, and bring the message to the public at this year’s Festival”. Working with the garden club to help create the curriculum and present are Pasco County Master Gardeners and Pasco County Parks, Recreation, and Natural Resources.
The Monarch Marvels workshops will be held on Saturday, September 7, 2024, at 10:30 am—12:30 pm; Saturday, September 21, 2024, at 10:30 am—12:30 pm; and Saturday, September 28, 2024, at 1 pm at Hugh Embry Library, 14215 4th Street; Dade City, FL. Space is limited and registration for all three workshops is required. At the final workshop, participants will be recognized and will receive a certificate. For more information, call Hugh Embry Library: 352-567-3576.