San Diego Pollinator Alliance 

We are elated to share news from the Xerces Society as the reports from Western monarch overwintering sites start to roll in. For those who are not familiar with the term, overwintering is the act of migrating to warmer regions to survive the winter. Eastern monarchs overwinter in Mexico and Western monarchs overwinter along the California coast. Last year, the overwintering Western monarch population had decreased to just 1% of its historic numbers, an all time low that reinforced the plight of these essential pollinators. However, as we start to see monarchs arrive to some coastal sites, there is cause for celebration!

Many factors can affect the number of butterflies that overwinter each season, such as climate and access to food. While we are happy to see an increase in counts this year, we must still be mindful that these beautiful creatures need to be protected. 

The Xerces Society has put together a Western Monarch Call to Action, that consists of 5 key steps we can take to save this species:

1. Protect and manage California overwintering sites
2. Restore breeding and migratory habitat in California
3. Protect monarchs and their habitat from pesticides
4. Protect, manage, and restore summer breeding and fall migration monarch habitat outside of California
5. Answer key research questions about how to best aid western monarch recovery

To check out their plan in more detail, visit their site. 
To read more statistics and data from the overwintering report, see here.  


“Early Signs of Hope as Monarch Butterflies Return to California Overwintering Sites.” Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation, 21 Oct. 2021, https://xerces.org/press/early-signs-of-hope-as-monarch-butterflies-return-to-california-overwintering-sites. Press release.

We are looking for volunteers to visit local overwintering sites and contribute data to the Xerces Society's Western monarch count. It is through this effort that the overwintering population is assessed. The counts are centered around the holidays, so if you've got relatives in town you can make it a family affair!

There will be 2 rounds of counts taking place:


Thanksgiving Count 
Saturday, November 13^th through Sunday, December 5^th

New Year’s Count
Saturday, December 25^th through Sunday January 9^th

^{To find overwintering sites near you, you can visit here.} 

If you are interested, please reach out to Melissa Stepek from the California Department of Fish & Wildlife Service. She will connect you with a sign up sheet to see which overwintering sites need the most support and when.

• A hat and sunscreen
• Your favorite weeding and/or digging tools
• Water, snacks and/or your own lunch

Fall Garden Festival 2021 | Saturday, November 13th at 10:00am-2:00pm
Garden Member Preview 9:00-10:00am

Cost is admissions to The Garden: 
General admission $8 / Seniors $5
Children $4 / Children under 2 yrs Free
Garden Members Free

The Fall Garden Festival will feature outdoor demonstrations and tours on water harvesting, hillside planting, proper tree planting, Landscape Design Consultations, Free Tree Giveaways with Ms. Smarty-Plants™ thanks to our generous partner SDG&E, the Fall Plant Sale, a Live Well San Diego Proclamation, and a variety of fabulous garden vendors, as well as local art and jewelry.

Come visit our booth to chat about pollinators!

• If you or someone you know is interested in planting a pollinator garden, our Pollinator Toolkit is a great resource to share! 
• Now is a great time to start planting natives to support our pollinator friends. Here is a list of nurseries to visit from the California Native Plant Society.
• We are still working diligently on the Native Milkweed project, and are currently cleaning and weighing seed collected from our native milkweed farm and other wild sources. Stay up to date on our progress here.