BAY DE NOC TOWNSHIP, Mich. (WZMQ) – Thursday evening, a large group of people flocked to Delta County to bid farewell to some special seasonal visitors.
Each year, hundreds of monarch butterflies funnel to the Peninsula Point Lighthouse as they migrate from the Northern U.S. or Canada to Mexico.
“They roost in the cedar trees here because they offer them protection from the wind and the cold at night,” explained Monarch Project volunteer Susan Jamison. “If the wind conditions are favorable the next day, they will fly across the water to Door County, Wisconsin. Monarchs don’t like to fly over large bodies of water, so the tip of our peninsula offers them a shorter distance.”
Thursday evening, U.P. Wild Delta County held its 4th annual Blessing of the Monarch Butterflies. Participants prayed and sang for the butterflies, did breathwork exercises, and shared in the beauty of the monarchs.
“It’s a reciprocal blessing, so the monarchs are blessing us as we’re blessing the monarchs,” said U.P. Wild Curator Lanni Lantto. “We do some ‘wander and ponder’ together in this space to get to know this bioregion, this watershed, and these monarchs. It’s really just a time for us to celebrate these little creatures that are in our midst.”
Lantto says the event also connects people with their community and with nature.
“I think this is really important to do so that we don’t isolate,” she said. “It really combats a lot of the isolation that we feel and a lot of the depression that we have. If we just take the time to focus not only in community together, but to just focus on one of these beautiful creatures, it can take us out of those depressions and the anxiety of our culture and give us a respite, even if it’s for one hour while we’re here. It’s worth doing together.”
According to Jamison, more than 150 monarchs have already left for Door County, and more groups are expected to arrive in the coming days. She expects the final group of butterflies to depart at the end of September.
“We welcome people to come down, look at the monarchs, do some reading about monarch migration,” Jamison said. “The monarchs that leave here are the monarchs that will live for 8 – 9 months. They will get down to Mexico and winter down there, and then they will start the journey back north. They will die, and the next generation will continue coming up north. Next May, we may see the third or fourth generation of the monarchs that left here.”
For more information on U.P. Wild or to find a branch near you, visit upwild.org. Peninsula Point Lighthouse is located at 3722 County 513 T Road, Rapid River.
