Monarch Madness at Corktown Common
It was late on a sunny September afternoon, with temperatures in the 30’s. We had been around downtown all morning and were getting rather sick of the heat. The three of us, myself, boyfriend, and little brother, had decided we would grab a lemonade and head over to Corktown Common Park. We envisioned ourselves sitting in the cool shade under a tree, sipping our cold drinks.
Once we walked into the park, I quickly noticed that we had just stumbled upon an urban pollinator haven. The park was bursting with colours of late season plants, such as the purple of New England Aster, yellow of Goldenrod, and white of Boneset. It was this last one that stole the show.
The white flowers of Boneset were teeming with Monarch butterflies. I could not believe my eyes. After a summer of high numbers of the at-risk butterfly species throughout the Greater Toronto Area, this moment was an incredible finale.
Each Boneset plant had at least one perfectly-symmetrical, orange and black butterfly drinking pollen from its small white flowers. We continued walking through Corktown Common, towards the end of a paved walkway where we could sit down and take in this amazing sight.
Before long we noticed that a Boneset plant in front of us had seven Monarch butterflies on it. Yes, seven. At this point we were so excited by our findings that none of us were sitting down. We had risen to observe and photograph the beauty that we were witnessing.
Often cities get a bad rap for their impact on the environment. Pollution, traffic, industry, humans. You name it, it probably has an impact on the land surrounding us and is known for this. If we are going to experience the sheer beauty that our cities possess, we need to pay attention to it.
I have never seen so many Monarch butterflies in one place.
My brother and I talked about where we grew up. Our house was out in the country, and beside it there was a field of milkweed. We reminisced of the butterflies we had seen as kids. They were always there, and we didn’t see them as a symbol of anything important.
Now, sitting minutes from the heart of Toronto, the Monarch butterflies were a symbol of the work we have done and the work that lies ahead. Paying attention to the beauty of Toronto can only occur if the beauty persists there.