From small ‘mom-and-pop shops’ to large corporate campuses, there is a huge opportunity for businesses to help to bring back monarchs, other pollinators, and wildlife. Supporting the creation of habitat at your business campus, headquarters, or in your community will benefit not only monarchs but your business as well.
- Trying to connect to millennials? Your commitment to sustainability, conservation, and care for the environment will go miles! This is true of not only your customer but an effective tool in attracting and retaining new talent as well.
- Want media attention? A monarch initiative gets people talking!
- Need to expand your customer base? By working with area nonprofits, school groups, or other businesses, you can reinforce your brand with influential and engaged potential customers.
Use your imagination and grow your business.
- Get out in your community! As a leader, people take cues from your actions. Consider spearheading or sponsoring a monarch habitat project or educational experience. Contributing to the community engages employees and reminds customers that you care about the health and well-being of where you live, work, and play. Start a conversation based on shared values and build trust and loyalty. You will be amazed at how much support you can get from your employees and their feeling of involvement if they are just asked to participate. Let your community know about your efforts! Once employees and customers find out about all the benefits of your sustainable monarch habitat, they can become some of your best spokesmen and women. Community action events are fun, engaging, and highly visible ways to make a positive mark on your community.
- Help monarchs and increase your bottom line with LESS work! Native plants, including milkweed, native grasses, and nectar sources, have much deeper root systems than conventional landscaping plants. This means fewer costs in upkeep while providing environmental services such as improving stormwater management and water quality, and soil health. Something as simple as a rain garden reduces maintenance and creates habitat, so even small businesses can make a big difference.
- Reduce your carbon footprint! Alleviate pressure on monarch populations from climate change. Your actions make a difference. Remember to shop organic whenever possible, especially when you purchase plants. Local greenhouses will normally have a native plant section with pesticide-free options. Consider allowing your employees to telecommute one day per week. Use energy-efficient appliances. Investigate using more renewable energy sources, including solar and wind power. Get creative to minimize waste on-site and at home by Reducing, Reusing, and Recycling.
- Join us! We need generous advocates willing to use their time, imagination, influence, and passion to promote monarch conservation. Continued financial contributions to the Monarch Joint Venture will help monarchs take flight across the country through the implementation of rigorous conservation strategies that bring varied strengths, tools, and land management opportunities to the table through the MJV partnership. We advance monarch conservation in the U.S. and dedicate our time, energy, and funds accordingly. Every penny (or million) counts! Interested in donating to monarch conservation? Contact Wendy Caldwell for information about corporate sponsorship, or visit our donate page to make an individual contribution today. For more local impact, sponsor habitats or events that drive more conservation actions in your community.
Opportunities and Considerations
Habitat Creation, Site Planning, & Maintenance
Site preparation is an essential step in habitat creation. It is important to carefully select native nectar and milkweed plants for use. The Xerces Society has developed recommended nectar plants lists and the MJV Milkweed Guide shows recommended native species.
Establishing a long-term maintenance plan is essential for the longevity of a habitat restoration project. While habitat may not require much maintenance from year to year, having a plan in place to determine who will be responsible for maintenance is important. This should include a training program for new employees or volunteers.
You can reduce your land care costs and minimize threats to pollinators by avoiding pesticides and fertilizers in land management and switching to Integrated Vegetative Management or Integrated Pest Management. Not only does reducing the use of pesticide and fertilizer help monarchs and improve water quality through less nutrient-runoff, it helps your pocket book through fewer landscaping costs and adds beauty to your grounds.
Community Science & Habitat Monitoring
Your habitat can help contribute to scientific understanding of monarchs and their conservation through community science. These projects provide a fun opportunity to engage staff, community members, or employees’ families in your monarch/pollinator project. Monarch community science opportunities are described here.
Case Studies
- General Mills – Multi-Year, $4 million investment in pollinator habitat
- Wildlife Habitat Council
- Marketing research suggests that 84% of consumers prefer environmentally and socially responsible products and services whenever possible.
More Information & Resources
- www.plantmilkweed.org provides more information on creating habitat for monarchs, including sourcing native, locally sourced seeds and plants and selecting what is right for your area.
- In addition, the MJV has compiled many valuable resources from our partners on our Downloads and Links page. These handouts provide great information but can also be downloaded and distributed to various audiences.
- National Valuation of Monarch Butterflies indicates an Untapped Potentaly for Incentive-Based COnservation. Diffendorfer et. al, 2014.
- Cilmate-change and mass mortality events in overwintering monarch butterflies, Brave et. al, 2012.
- Monarchs and Climate Change webinar, Oberhauser and Nail, December 2016.
- B corporations are growing, and more investors are looking at B Corps. Get information on becoming B Corps certified here.
- The Wildlife Habitat Council webinar, "How to Build a Successful Conservation Program", discusses the keys to building a strong and successful corporate conservation program.