Mobile Migration
Again in 2023 we are hosting a Mobile Migration activity, symbolizing the Tri-Nation migration of Monarchs from their northern breeding grounds up along the Canadian/US border south through the US East of the Rockies to their over-wintering grounds in the Oyamel fir forests of Central Mexico, a nearly 3000-mile journey!
Get Involved in The Journey
We have chosen 6 gardens ranging from Boston Avenue Church Downtown as our northern-most point, down to the Audubon Society’s Flycatcher Trail in Jenks. In between are some nifty locations of which many of you may be unaware.
Boston Avenue Church Think outside the garden fence borders! These two “Islands of Refreshment” are actual certified Monarch Waystations and can serve as refueling stops in a decidedly urban environment. Rattlesnake Master, Ironweed, Gumweed, Blue Vervain and loads of Partridge Pea are tightly packed into these small refuges.
OSU Extension Garden The Master Gardeners work their magic with a huge variety of labeled nectar sources in beds, plus water features.
Teaching Garden The Butterfly Garden section outside the main garden is a Monarch Magnet with its two big Vitex bushes and other nectar plants. The adjacent Garden Center beds and upper Rose Garden beds have a variety of nectar sources, and roosting Monarchs may be found in the line of Cedar trees between Linnaeus and the Rose Garden.
Krause's Family Garden This property, tucked firmly in Mid-Town at 3727 S. Xanthus, is home to over a dozen species of host and nectar plants, planned to offer home and sustenance throughout the growing season.
Crow Creek Meadow A tiny, easy-to-overlook locale near Brookside, CCM currently has lots of Senna, (Partridge Pea) the host plant for Cloudless Sulphurs in buttery yellow bloom, in addition to Cowpen Daisy and Spanish Gold. Swing by throughout the year to see what is in season!
Flycatcher Trail Founded by the Tulsa Audubon Society and in conjunction with Jenks Public Schools, this gorgeous outdoor classroom and demonstration garden hosts a plethora of native plant species and the many pollinators drawn to these hosts and nectar sources.
Feel free to hop on the migration path at any of the gardens as you see fit. Signage at each location will tell you something about various aspects of how the migration coincides with stages of a Monarch’s life cycle and the generational progression of their journey! Enjoy and have fun!
Complete the Mobile Migration and be entered to win a prize!
Post a selfie in the comments below at each of the seven migration stops with the migration poster in the frame. Sunday evening winners will be drawn to receive: Four Passes to visit the Tulsa Zoo Winners will be announced on Facebook.