The first Monarch Waystation registered on April 21, 2005, and located on the campus of the University of Kansas in Lawrence, Kansas.
Photo provided courtesy of Chip Taylor.

By Emily A. Geest, Orley R. Taylor, and Kristen A. Baum.

Read the full paper here.

Monarch butterflies, have undergone large scale population declines leading to multiple conservation organizations encouraging the creation of monarch butterfly habitat. One of the most successful programs is Monarch Watch’s Monarch Waystation program that encourages volunteers to create and register monarch habitat. More than 45,000 Monarch Waystations to date have been registered, with most participants opting to name their sites. Our study investigates the words, themes, and concepts associated with these Monarch Waystation names.

We found that the most common waystation names referenced yard placement with My Backyard the most frequently used name overall. A common word theme was animals, with insect, mammal, and bird words frequently chosen including creative names such as Bluebirds and Butterflies On The Hill, Butterflies! Caterpillar Flight School, and Your time as a caterpillar has expired. Your wings are ready. Theological/mortality themed words were also present with many waystations serving as a memorial, such as Snowflake Memorial Critter Sanctuary. In fact, the longest name in the database is a memorial dedication: [Name] in honor of the coolest Mom that ever lived. She was so ahead of her time. Familial terms were also commonly encountered such as mom and grandma, with some unique garden names being GiGi’s Garden of Eatin’, SEE LOOK DAD – MILKWEED IS PRETTY, and Pop Pop’s Monarch Hangout. Waystations often had positive feelings and emotions mentioned such as Puddle Jumpers Joyful Place, For the Love of Pets and Sunsets (and Butterflies too), and Our Neighbors ain’t Happy, Pollinators are!!! Wordplay was plentiful with names such as Got Milkweed?, Beauty and the Bees, and our personal favorite Aiders of the Lost Monarch.

While more work is needed to understand the longevity of these gardens and the more nuanced meanings names may have, overall, we found that ownership, permanence, positivity, and family are associated with Monarch Waystations. These insights can help habitat creation programs tailor messaging to desired audiences and potentially increase overall participation.