May's reflection comes from Princess Harris, who serves at Faith in Place as the Sustainable Food & Land Use Senior Coordinator. Please enjoy it below and sign up for our newsletter to stay up to date on upcoming events.
It is truly a blessing when you love what you do, but it is absolutely magical when others recognize your work. I recently won a scholarship to travel to Michoacan, Mexico to see the monarch butterflies over the winter. I applied for a scholarship sponsored by the Natural Habitat Adventures and World Wildlife Fund. Thinking I had no chance, I got the scholarship based on my passion and how I incorporate monarch education into the work I do at Faith in Place.
The trip to Michoacan was a once-in-a-lifetime experience and unimaginable seeing thousands of Monarch butterflies in one place flying without a care in the world. This trip also inspired me to work with the locals to do more on my end to help the monarch butterfly thrive (whose number has dropped by 90% due to climate change and lack of milkweed).
It made the work I do so worth it. If you see me at your CSA or community garden with milkweed in hand, this is a reason why. Hopefully, the monarch butterflies from one of our gardens made or will make the trip to Michoacan.
Save the Date: If you are in the Chicago area, join us for our annual Double Dutch Fest on July 20th from 11 a.m - 3 p.m CT! I hope to see you there!
Princess Harris