COLUMBIA (AP) - Volunteers in Columbia have been working to create a sanctuary for millions of monarch butterflies that pass through the state as they migrate to and from Mexico.
Efforts to plant milkweed and other native flowers on park land were boosted earlier this month when Columbia became the 16th city in the state to join the National Wildlife Federation's Mayors' Monarch Pledge.
On a recent Saturday, volunteers spent four hours cutting bush honeysuckle with hand saws, piling up the debris and applying herbicide to kill an invasive species on the five-acre field.
City Conservationist Danielle Fox said she envisions a place where monarchs can lay their eggs and other pollinators, such as bees and other butterfly species, can feast on the nectar of native flowers. She also pictures a monarch-friendly demonstration garden in school gardens around the city and outside City Hall.
"My main goal is to create awareness in the city, the department and the public," Fox said. "It's all about education, as well as creating habitats for pollinating species."
The city also has applied to join Missourians for Monarchs, a collaboration of businesses, cities, government departments and organizations that support the restoration of monarch
habitats. The organization's goal is creating habitat, said Jason Jenkins, the group's monarch and pollinator coordinator.
"We're working to change people's idea of what their fields or yards should look like and make more places for pollinators to thrive," he said.
The population of monarchs had fallen in 2013 to its lowest point in 20 years due in part to a drop in native habitats, according to Monarch Watch, a nonprofit educational outreach program.