BETHEL — Mahoosuc Land Trust’s annual Monarch Festival is planned for Sunday, Aug. 14, at the Valentine Farm Conservation Center at 162 North Road. Admission is free, and the event will be open from noon to 4 p.m., immediately following the trust’s annual meeting at 11 a.m.

“The first Monarch Festival in 2021 was a blowout success,” said MLT Executive Director Kirk Siegel, according to a news release from the trust. “We raised awareness about the critical role of Maine’s pollinators and the importance of protecting a wide variety of habitats. As important as they are, our large-scale conservation projects alone will not sustain a healthy planet. The festival celebrates our view that the conservation movement needs more involvement by people willing to invest time and energy enhancing backyards and public spaces to create habitat for birds, bees, and other pollinators.”

The festival is a fun, family focused event that helps inspire visitors to bring nature into their own lives. Activities include garden tours, bird walks, Bugs In Maine exhibit, story times, fairy house building, Bethel Area Arts and Music activities, local arts and crafts vendors, raffle, scavenger hunt, and lawn games. Lunch is provided while supplies last. Oxbow Brewing Company will sell pizza and beer, with proceeds going to the trust.

Monarchs are among the most visible and best known of the local pollinators to frequent trust’s unique Habitat for All garden, and make a logical poster species for an educational event. They are also critically endangered primarily because of habitat loss. Watching monarch caterpillars munch milkweed leaves, seeing chrysalides hatch into new butterflies, and tagging butterflies before their return to Mexico are interactive ways to engage and educate visitors and to inspire them to plant pollinator-friendly gardens at home.The mostly volunteer-created pollinator garden continues to attract thousands of visitors annually.

This year’s festival sponsors are The River Fund Maine, Bethel Rotary Club, Franklin Savings Bank, and Oxbow Brewing Company. Norway Savings Bank also contributed to the event. Mahoosuc Land Trust works with communities to conserve critical lands that protect biodiversity on a regional level, mitigate climate change, and provide recreational, scenic, economic, and ecological benefits.

For more information, visit Mahoosuc.org. Rain date is Aug. 21.

Check out other upcoming area events!

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