Endangered Species

Monarch Butterflies Making A Comeback

The western California monarch is in danger of extinction. Good Earth Plant Company provides critical milkweed habitat and we're thrilled to see it working. Photo: Erin Lindley
With so much troubling news about our environment lately, any good news is welcome, and I found some worth sharing with you. The Monarch butterfly is making a comeback! Last month, the Xerces Society reported a surprising outcome from its 25th annual Western Monarch Thanksgiving Count. Volunteers observed 247,237 monarch butterflies observed across western overwintering sites: a more than 100-fold increase from last year. Xerces Society biologists Isis Howard and Emma Pelton write, “This year’s total both amazed us with the monarchs’ ability to bounce up from a record low and underscores the importance of ongoing conservation efforts to recover the western monarch butterfly population.”… Read More

Go To The Zoo For the Pandas, Stay for the Plants

The “World Famous” San Diego Zoo’s two giant pandas will return to China at the end of April. Bai-Yun, 27, and her son, Xiao Liwu, 6, are probably the Zoo’s most popular animals (maybe after the koalas). So you’ve got about a month left to see them and wish them farewell. You might be fighting the crowds, but it shouldn’t be quite as bad as the superbloom frenzy. If you’re from out of town, the zoo is a must visit. But a lot of people miss one of the most impressive things about the San Diego Zoo: the plants! In addition to all of the animals, the San Diego Zoo has thousands of plants as part of the animal habitats.… Read More

Plant A Weed and Save the Monarchs

The western California monarch is in danger of extinction. Good Earth Plant Company provides critical milkweed habitat and we're thrilled to see it working. Photo: Erin Lindley
Recently a visitor to Good Earth Plant Company asked me “Hey, what’s that tall plant growing on your green roof?” I told her it was milkweed. What I didn’t say is that it might be the most important plant on the entire green roof. The Western monarch butterfly is one of the most recognizable insects in the world. It is called “the ambassador of nature.” In coastal California cities where migrating monarch butterflies have traditionally spent their winters like Pacific Grove, Pismo Beach, and Santa Barbara, there is a whole tourism industry built around the butterflies. Ten million monarch butterflies used to spend the winter in California during the 1980s, according to estimates.… Read More