Tag Archives: fundraiser

TINY TENDER SCREECH OWL SUFFERING FROM RAT POISON

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Cape Ann wildlife rehabber Erin Parsons Hutchings shared photos of an Eastern Screech Owl that she has been treating for secondary rat poisoning.

“A crowd of concerned police officers were standing around the tiny creature when animal control officer Jamie Levie entered the room. This small screech owl, no larger than a coke can, had shown up at the station in clear need of help. She was unable to fly and clearly in distress.

Officer Levie brought her to wildlife rehabilitator Erin Hutchings from Cape Ann Wildlife, Inc.

Erin did what many rehabbers do when they receive sick predatory animals – she drew the bird’s blood.

Why? To check for exposure to rat poison.

Rat poison effects an animal’s ability to clot – therefore it’s ability to heal. When enough poison has been ingested, this results in the animal’s death.

She took the blood sample yesterday. It should have clotted within 8 min. As of this morning, the owl’s blood still hasn’t clotted.

This precious creature was just doing its job helping us control the rodent population, but someone poisoned its meals.

Erin is working very hard right now to save this innocent creature. This holiday season, her rescue could use your support in their efforts to save these animals.

If donating isn’t possible, please consider spreading the word about rat poison and what it does to our wildlife.

Thank you”

For more information on how to donate, please go here

Mission Statement: Cape Ann Wildlife, Inc. is dedicated to rescuing and providing the necessary rehabilitative care to all injured, orphaned or otherwise impaired wildlife during their confinement and adjustment period with Cape Ann Wildlife to ensure their survival upon release back into their natural environment.

PLEASE JOIN ME TONIGHT FOR “THE POLLINATOR GARDEN” VIRTUAL PRESENTATION FUNDRAISER FOR MASS POLLINATOR NETWORK

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If you are looking to be inspired by creatures and colors of the upcoming season, and what to plant to make your garden a welcoming haven for wildlife, please join me tonight at 7pm. I am super excited to be presenting “The Pollinator Garden” for the Mass Pollinator Network. Because it is a Keynote presentation, I was able to add and collage many more photos. The presentation looks great and is chock full of ideas for your pollinator paradise. I hope to see you there!

Please join me Wednesday evening, March 17th, at 7pm for “The Pollinator Garden” presentation, via Zoom, for the Massachusetts Pollinator Network.

From early spring through winter, I will take you on a journey of understanding the beautiful creatures found in your gardens and how you can create a welcoming haven by planting trees, shrubs, vines, native wildflowers, and non-invasive ornamentals. Some of the wild creatures covered include Ruby-throated Hummingbirds, moths and butterflies, bees, Baltimore Orioles, and much, much more.

This lecture is the second in a three part fundraising series. For more information and to register please go here: MA Pollinator Network: The Pollinator Garden with Kim Smith and please consider making a donation to MA Pollinator Network. Donations of any amount are welcome.

Thank you!

JOIN ME WEDNESDAY NIGHT FOR MY VIRTUAL POLLINATOR GARDEN PROGRAM TO BENEFIT THE MASSACHUSETTS POLLINATOR NETWORK

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Please join me Wednesday evening, March 17th, at 7pm for “The Pollinator Garden” presentation, via Zoom, for the Massachusetts Pollinator Network.

From early spring through winter, I will take you on a journey of understanding the beautiful creatures found in your gardens and how you can create a welcoming haven by planting trees, shrubs, vines, native wildflowers, and non-invasive ornamentals. Some of the wild creatures covered include Ruby-throated Hummingbirds, moths and butterflies, bees, Baltimore Orioles, and much, much more.

This lecture is the second in a three part fundraising series. For more information and to register please go here: MA Pollinator Network: The Pollinator Garden with Kim Smith and please consider making a donation to MA Pollinator Network. Donations of any amount are welcome.

Thank you!

MONARCH BUTTERFLY POPULATION CRASHING

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For a second year in a row, the Monarch numbers are plummeting.

“World Wildlife Fund Mexico in collaboration with CONANP and the Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve (MBBR) announced the total forest area occupied by overwintering monarch colonies today. Nine (9) colonies were located this winter season with a total area of 2.10 hectares, a 26% decrease from the previous season (2.83 ha).” – Monarch Watch

Call to Action! Create wildlife sanctuaries by planting flowering native trees, shrubs, vines, and wildflowers that bloom throughout the growing season.

For nearly two decades I have been sharing information on how we can all help all pollinators, not just Monarch Butterflies. Learn more by joining me virtually on March 17th for my program “The Pollinator Garden” that I am presenting to the Massachusetts Pollinator Network.

To register, click here

For Monarchs specifically, we in the northeast need plant milkweed for Monarch caterpillars and asters and goldenrods for the southward migrating adult butterflies. Creating habitats for Monarchs has a cascading effect that helps myriad pollinators and songbirds. 

All along the Monarch’s migratory corridors, climate change, loss of habitat, and the use of pesticides are the greatest threats to the butterflies. Because of climate change, the life cycle of wildflowers are often out of synch with the time the butterflies are traveling through a region. Examples include last September’s drought in the Texas Funnel (2020) and the cold Arctic blast in Texas this past February (2021). When the Monarchs migrated through Texas last fall, there were few if any wildflowers still in bloom to help fuel their journey. Followed by the unusually deep freeze in Texas that killed emerging milkweed shoots (food for the next generation’s caterpillars), this double whammy of sorts does not bode well for this year’s already reduced population traveling along the Monarch Highway. 

 

50KM POP-UP FUNDRAISER FOR BUTTERFLIES AND THEIR PEOPLE AND MONARCH SANCTURAY

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Last spring my husband Tom and I traveled to the Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve at Cerro Pelón to continue filming Beauty on the Wing: Life Story of the Monarch Butterfly. We stayed in the magically beautiful tiny rustic town of Macheros at the equally as beautiful JM Butterflies Bed and Breakfast. The hotel is owned and operated by a visionary husband and wife team, Joel Moreno Rojas and Ellen Sharp. In five short years, the dynamic duo turned a four room home into a wonderfully accommodating 14 room inn, replete with a new restaurant, swimming pool, ensuite bathrooms, internet, mountain view roof top cocktail area, yoga studio, with many more amenities.

Macheros is located at the base of Cerro Pelón, the location where the butterflies overwintering grounds were first documented by Mexican citizen scientist Catalina Aguado Trail, working with Canadian and US scientists (1975). The trail leading up to the sanctuary is mere footsteps from JM Butterflies B and B..

Cerro Pelón is the most pristine of all the reserves. The beautiful natural state in which the sanctuary is kept is only made possible by a group of highly dedicated arborists.  The arborists daily patrol the forest to prevent illegal logging and provide information to the guides on the butterfly’s current location (Monarchs move around the mountains during their winter stay). The arborists are working to protect the existing forest. Some organizations focus on replanting trees after they have been logged, but it can take 30 to 40 years for a tree to become a special “butterfly tree,” one on which the butterflies roost during the winter.

Monarchs and Snakeroot, Cerro Pelon

The arborists are paid through the forest conservation non-profit organization created by Ellen and Joel appropriately called Butterflies and Their People. The mission of Butterflies and Their People is to support the Monarchs while also providing livelihoods for members of the community. Much of the village of Macheros depends on visitors to the sanctuary. Additionally, the Inn provides well paying jobs including restaurant work, trail guides, drivers, and inn keeping.

As you can imagine, a tiny town such as Macheros has been devastated by the pandemic. Gratefully so, no one in Macheros has caught the disease however, the local town officials have closed the sanctuary to the public for fear that someone may contract Covid from visitors to the sanctuary. Cerro Pelón will be shuttered for the entire year, a devastating blow to the tiny township and all her citizens. As has happened to so many in the US and around the world, overnight the people of Macheros lost their livelihoods.

A fundraiser has been organized by Carlotta James and the Monarch Ultra Team. So far, they have raised $1,900.00, nearly two thirds of the $3,000.00 goal.

Please consider donating to the 50km pop-up fundraiser at:

50km Fundraiser for Monarch Butterfly Sanctuary

Any donation of any amount will be tremendously appreciated. Thank you for our consideration.

Butterflies and Their People Mission Statement: To preserve the butterfly sanctuary by creating jobs for local people in forest and monarch butterfly conservation.

BACKYARD GROWERS FIFTH ANNUAL GREAT GLOUCESTER GROWDOWN

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Join Backyard Growers for the Fifth Annual Great Gloucester GrowDown!

We’ve taken on a hard task. How do we reimagine one of Gloucester’s best events of the year, an event that raises essential funds for our work putting fresh produce on families’ tables through school, community, and backyard vegetable gardens, while the world continues to self-isolate?

With more than one in five American households experiencing food insecurity in the face of the pandemic, we put our heads together, reached out to Short & Main, our incredible and generous hosts of the GrowDown in years past, and cooked up a plan. We have all the ingredients in place, and now all we need is you.

THE GREAT GLOUCESTER GROWDOWN IN THE COMFORT OF YOUR OWN HOME.

The 5th Great Gloucester GrowDown is set for Tuesday, September 29.

Join us for a “party to go” in support of Backyard Growers’ school, community, and backyard garden programs, featuring…

🍅 Three-course pick-up picnic dinners for guests to enjoy in their own homes, prepared by the incredible chefs at Short & Main using fresh, local ingredients from North Shore producers, and featuring a take-out signature cocktail

🥕 Incredible desserts from local bakeries Sandpiper Bakery and Mayflour Cakes & Confections

🎬 A movie premiere exploring how we’ve been responding to our community’s food access needs during the pandemic – meet our gardeners, learn the impact of Backyard Growers’ programs, and see how our team pivoted to provide gardening resources, tools, support, and more, in a rapidly changing global health crisis.

FOR MORE INFORMATION CLICK HERE

 

CONGRATULATIONS – THE FAMILY PORCH RAIT PROJECT TO BENEFIT THE OPEN DOOR RAISES $21,000.00!!!

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Thank you so much for your interest in The Family Porch-Rait Project!!
This whole fundraiser could not have gone any more spectacularly. We initially thought we’d get a little interest and raise a little money. Instead, we got tremendous interest and we raised A LOT of money – as of right now, over $18,000 is going to help provide much needed food to members of our community in The Open Door service area. This amazing organization has seen a massive spike in need because of the Covid-19 crisis and the subsequent job losses and layoffs and, with your help, has risen to meet that need.

Unfortunately, all that success means that we’ve reached absolute saturation point and can no longer accept any more requests. By the time we’re finished with our existing requests and schedule, we will have photographed nearly 200 families. We know this is disappointing, but we have to draw this fundraiser to a close.

While we can’t accommodate a photo session, the need by The Open Door remains extreme and on-going. If you’d like to donate anyway, please know that your contribution will go directly towards relieving food insecurity to, literally, your neighbors, friends and relatives. Please consider making a donation of any size to help this effort. DONATE HERE

Thank you, and again we regret the disappointment, but deeply appreciate the amazing community support!

Best
The Family Porch-Rait Project Crew

Bill Sumner, Jason Grow, Shawn Henry, Paul Cary Goldberg, Normanda Newport, Hannah Sumner

 

 

PLEASE LEND A HAND – JOSEPHINE TAORMINA GO FUND ME FUNDRAISER

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Please consider helping this beautiful, kind lady. Thank you <3

TO DONATE GO HERE

In October of 2018 Josephine Taormina was diagnosed with Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML).  Her team of doctors swiftly and aggressively started treatment with chemotherapy. After 70 days in the hospital, Josephine was released knowing that she would receive a stem cell transplant over the next few months from her daughter.

The stem cell transplant was considered a success and everyone thought Josephine was on her road to recovery.

Her first relapse happened in September 2019.  She was back in the hospital which was becoming an all to familiar place for her and her family.  During her hospitalizations, Josephine acquired many side effects both common and rare.

READ MORE HERE

Josephine (right) and Friends

MAMA AND BABY OPOSSUM GET SECOND CHANCE AT LIFE!

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She was found lying in the woods, barely breathing with her helpless baby clinging to her. We believe she was hit by a car. She had severe head trauma, extreme hypothermia and was very thin and dehydrated. We brought her into our facility, warmed her up and started an IV. We honestly didn’t think she would make it, but we had to try – for her sake and for her baby.

We were so thankful that she slowly began to responded to our care. Every day she became more and more lively. After about three weeks of treatment she was able to be released. Knowing this mama Opossum and her baby had a second chance at life made all the effort worthwhile.

If you would like to support our efforts, we could really use the community’s help with some much needed supplies.  

Wildlife Amazon Wish List https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/3SGHHZJ5OBGN0?ref_=wl_share

Thank you Cape Ann Wildlife for all you do to help our local wild creatures!

TOGETHER WE CAN SET THE TABLE FOR LOCAL FAMILIES

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My friend Nicole Duckworth is part of the Open Door’s Turkey Team, a group of individuals collectively raising funds for the Open Door’s Thanksgiving drive. Nicole has raised $1,250.00 towards her $1,500.00 goal. Please help Nicole help local families. Thirty dollars buys a family a turkey dinner, complete with all the fixings. You can donate by clicking here. Thank you!

Nicole writes:

“Join me making a real difference.

Even a small donation will go a long way to helping me meet my fundraising goal for The Open Door — and we’ll be making the holidays so much brighter for our neighbors in need. Every $30 provides a basket, so whether you give $10 or $100, we’ll be helping local families set their holiday tables.

Thank you!”

There are more people than ever this year who need our community’s help with Thanksgiving. Working with all the Turkey Team members, the Open Door’s  goal is to raise $10,000.00.  Read more about how you can help here:

Help The Open Door Provide Holiday Meal Baskets

Start a fundraiser to provide families who struggle to make ends meet with all the fixings to prepare their own festive holiday meals

We’re asking a few of our key partners to rally their friends, family, and networks to help us provide Holiday Meal Baskets to families who struggle to make ends meet.

We invite you to help us collectively raise $10,000 for Holiday Meal Baskets this season. Set your own fundraising goal to help us get there. When you join The Open Door’s Turkey Team, you can help these families uphold their own family traditions by preparing their own home-cooked holiday dinners — and you’ll help your friends feel good about doing good!

Starting a meal-basket fundraiser is easy to do — and it’s fun. We’ll give you all the tools you’ll need. With your help, we’ll be able to make the holidays so much brighter for our neighbors in need.

#GIVINGTUESDAY MONARCH BUTTERFLY FILM

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DONATE HERE for #GivingTuesday

#GivingTuesday is a global day of giving. Everyone, anywhere can participate! By supporting the documentary Beauty on the Wing, your fully tax deductible gift directly enables us to create a final cut, contributes to the music and map rights, to the cost of festival submissions, promotion, publicity, and much more. It’s easy to make a donation, just click the link above, which will take you to the Filmmakers Collaborative, our film’s fiscal sponsor.

Why does a documentary need a fiscal sponsor? A fiscal sponsor, in this case, the Filmmakers Collaborative, is a non-profit entity that enables a documentary filmmaker to raise funds and operate through an exempt sponsor. The sponsor manages the project’s money and reports to funders and tax agencies. Most importantly, contributors to the film can see how their gifts are being utilized towards the creation of the film.

Your voice is powerful. If you are unable to give this Giving Tuesday, please help support Beauty on the Wingby spreading the word through a Facebook share or a retweet.

For more information, visit the film’s website here: Monarch Butterfly Film

For an overview of the film’s budget, please go here: Budget

Thank you!

With gratitude,

Kim

#UNselfie Heart-shaped Monarch Butterfly

SAFE TRAVELS MARIPOSA MONARCA! AND MONARCH FILM ONLINE FUNDRAISING UPDATE

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The Monarch last to eclose departed on Wednesday, November 15th. Although the air temperature was only in the low 40s when I left for work, the sun was shining. Our front porch faces southwest so it wasn’t long before his wings were warmed by the sun’s rays and away he flew. The forecast for parts further south along the east coast, the next leg of his journey–Westport, Long Island, and the Jersey shore–looked promisingly mild. Thank you to my friend Patti Papows for the gift of this last little trooper.

We in the Northeast aren’t alone; I am reading reports about late comers from all around the United States, and even as far north as Toronto, Canada. So few Atlantic coast Monarchs were seen last year, do the great numbers this year portend of a permanent population increase? Bare in mind that the Monarchs were formerly counted in the billions when first discovered in the late 1970s, and now, forty years later, only millions.

A cold New England spring was offset by an unseasonably warm fall and that certainly helped the Monarchs (and myriad species of Lepidoptera). In response to the vast areas of farm acreage that no longer supports butterflies and bees, due to the use of Monsanto’s Roundup Ready genetically modified seeds of corn, soybean, and sorghum, people all across the U.S. are planting milkweed, creating pollinator habitats, and finding alternatives to pesticides and herbicides.

Monarchs Eastern Point Lighthouse Daybreak

With Thanksgiving only a few days away I am writing with the deepest appreciation and gratitude to my community for your tremendous contributions to Beauty on the Wing. From donations of $5.00 to $10,000.00, from over 70 donors, to date we have raised $24,710.00. We are well on our way to reaching our goal! Your kind words, contributions, and friendships mean the world. We are going to make an outstanding, thoughtful and thought-provoking film about the Monarchs that along the way, through storytelling and cinematography, shines a beautiful light on Cape Ann.

MY DEEPEST THANKS AND APPRECIATION TO LAUREN MERCADANTE (PRODUCER), SUSAN FREY (PRODUCER), NEW ENGLAND BIOLABS FOUNDATION, BOB AND JAN CRANDALL, MARY WEISSBLUM, SHERMAN MORSS, PETE AND BOBBI KOVNER (ANNISQUAM AND LEXINGTON), JAY FEATHERSTONE, MIA NEHME (BEVERLY), CHICKI HOLLET, JUNI VANDYKE, ERIC HUTCHINSE, KAREN MASLOW, MARION F., ELAINE M., KIMBERLY MCGOVERN, MEGAN HOUSER (PRIDES CROSSING), JIM VANBUSKIRK (PITTSBURGH) NANCY MATTERN (ALBUQUERQUE), DONNA STOMAN, PEGGY O’MALLEY, JOEY C., CATHERINE RYAN, JOEANN HART, JANE PAZNIK BONDARIN (NEW YORK), ROBERT REDIS (NEW YORK), NUBAR ALEXANIAN, PETER VAN DEMARK, PATRICIA VAN DERPOOL, FRED FREDERICKS (CHELMSFORD), LESLIE HEFFRON, JIM MASCIARELLI, DAVE MOORE (KOREA), LILIAN AND CRAIG OLMSTEAD, JOHN STEIGER, PAT DALPIAZ, AMY KERR, BARBARA T. (JEWETT, NY), ROBERTA C. ((NY), MARIANNE G. (WINDHAM, NY), PAULA RYAN O’BRIEN (WALTON, NY), MARTHA SWANSON, KIM TEIGER, JUDITH FOLEY (WOBURN), PATTI SULLIVAN, RONN FARREN, SUSAN NADWORNY (MELROSE), DIANE LINDQUIST (MANCHESTER), HEIDI SHRIVER (PENNSYLVANIA), JENNIFER CULLEN, TOM HAUCK, AND ANONYMOUS PERSONS FOR THEIR GENEROUS HELP.

 

https://www.instagram.com/p/BbvEnq_FlKp/

https://www.instagram.com/p/BbvFg8wF9kB/

THE LATE GREAT MONARCH MIGRATION CONTINUES

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Too cold for the last of our intrepid Monarchs to fly away today.

Our last little Monarch to emerge struggled to gain the warmth needed for takeoff. What is the minimum air temperature needed to allow Monarchs to fly? When at Cape May several weeks ago and witnessing a large overnight roost of butterflies, the air temperature the following morning was the same as Gloucester’s temperature this morning–low forties–but the sun was shining. No sunshine today, combined with the low temperature, made flying impossible. Monarchs cluster together in overnight roosts for warmth. Our little guy was all alone on an isolated branch and with temperatures expected to dip into the mid thirties, I brought him indoors for the night.

Why the late season stragglers? Warmer than usual fall temperatures allowed eggs and caterpillars to reach maturity when in colder years, freezing temperatures would have prevented development

Some Monarchs begin migrating southward as early as August. And as we have seen, during the warm fall season of 2017 in particular, as late as November. The Monarch migration continues until halted by freezing temperatures. This staggered migration is yet another chapter in the survival strategy of the Monarch’s life story. If all Monarchs began migrating at exactly the same time, a powerful storm or hurricane, such as Harvey or Irma, could have devastating consequences on a great many Monarchs.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BbffiAGlqCk/

https://www.instagram.com/p/Bbfdku5Fga3/

Will This Monarch Survive?

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Today, November 13th, a Monarch will emerge from its chrysalis in a garden 2,800 miles north of its winter sanctuary. The thing is, Monarchs typically arrive in Mexico at harvest time and around Day of the Dead celebrations, or when Americans celebrate Halloween. In the language of the indigenous Purépecha peoples, the name for the Monarch is “Harvester” butterfly. Under the most ideal conditions, this Monarch won’t arrive until Christmastime.

Along the northern leg of his journey, he will find little or no nectar plants as we have had several nights of freezing temperatures. All the wildflowers and garden plants have finished blooming for the season. With little fortification, is it possible for Monarchs to fly great distances? Biologists look for this type of climate change mismatch to track how global warming is affecting wildlife. Butterflies can survive rain. The water beads up and drips off its wings, but snow and below freezing temperatures are fatal to Monarchs.

With a hope and a prayer, fair winds and good weather, perhaps our little intrepid Monarch will make it to sunny Mexico, or possibly, shorten his journey, and at least make Florida his home for the winter. Here’s hoping.

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WITH THE GREATEST APPRECIATION FOR OUR COMMUNITY OF FRIENDS AND SPONSORS, I AM OVERJOYED TO SHARE THAT TO DATE WE HAVE RAISED $23,960.00 FOR THE DOCUMENTARY FILM “BEAUTY ON THE WING” ONLINE FUNDRAISER! 

Friends of the Monarch Butterfly: If you would like to help towards the completion of the documentary filmBeauty on the Wing: Life Story of the Monarch Butterfly, please consider making a tax deductible donation here:

DONATE HERE

Donors contributing over $5,000. will be listed in the credits as a film producer.

For more information, visit the film’s website here: Monarch Butterfly Film

For an overview of the film’s budget, please go here: Budget

Thank you so very much for your help.

With gratitude,

Kim

SCARY BUCKEYES AND THANK YOU MONARCH BUTTERFLY FILM DONORS FOR YOUR CONTINUING GENEROSITY!!!

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Beautiful to you and I, the large concentric circles strategically located on the wings of the Buckeye are meant to mimic the eyes of a larger creature. The eye patterns, or eyespots, frighten away would-be predators, mainly, hungry birds snipping at butterfly wings.

Many species of Lepidoptera have eyespots both in the adult and caterpillar stages, but butterflies and moths aren’t the only creatures that have evolved with eye-like markings. Reptiles, wild cats, fish, and birds also have eyespots.

Peacocks have very conspicuous eyespots, not to mimic and frighten, but to attract a peahen. The greater the number of “eyes,” the more desirable the male is to the female.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BU7mTlHFlbB/

The Foureye Butterflyfish, like butterflies, have eyespots located away from the more vulnerable head region; its eye markings are at the tail end.

Foureye Butterflyfish are found in the Western Atlantic, from Massachusetts and Bermuda to the West Indies and northern South America. Photo courtesy wiki commons media.

Over the course of the many years documenting Monarchs, I often encounter the beautiful Buckeye during the end of the summer. Common Buckeyes migrate every year, departing our most southern states in the spring, repopulating the northern states on their way; in some years even reaching as far north as southern Canada. In the fall, Buckeyes return south as they are not adapted to survive northern winters. The Common Buckeye is most attracted to yellow flowers. Look for them drinking nectar at Seaside Goldenrod and the yellow florets at the center of New England and Purple-stemmed Asters.
Common Buckeye and Painted Lady, Fall Migration 2017

To date we have raised $23,460.00, thanks to the extraordinary generosity of our community. If you would like to help towards the completion of the documentary film Beauty on the Wing: Life Story of the Monarch Butterfly, please consider making a tax deductible donation here:

DONATE HERE

Donors contributing over $5,000. will be listed in the credits as a film producer.

For more information, visit the film’s website here: Monarch Butterfly Film

For an overview of the film’s budget, please go here: Budget

Thank you so very much for your kind generosity and help in completing and bringing Beauty on the Wing to classrooms and theaters.

With gratitude,

Kim

MY DEEPEST THANKS AND APPRECIATION TO LAUREN MERCADANTE (PRODUCER), SUSAN FREY (PRODUCER), NEW ENGLAND BIOLABS FOUNDATION, BOB AND JAN CRANDALL, MARY WEISSBLUM, SHERMAN MORSS, JAY FEATHERSTONE, JUNI VANDYKE, MARION F., ELAINE M., KIMBERLY MCGOVERN, MEGAN HOUSER (PRIDES CROSSING), JIM VANBUSKIRK (PITTSBURGH) NANCY MATTERN (ALBUQUERQUE), DONNA STOMAN, PEGGY O’MALLEY, JOEY C., CATHERINE RYAN, JOEANN HART, JANE PAZNIK BONDARIN (NEW YORK), ROBERT REDIS (NEW YORK), NUBAR ALEXANIAN, PETER VAN DEMARK, PATRICIA VAN DERPOOL, FRED FREDERICKS (CHELMSFORD), LESLIE HEFFRON, JIM MASCIARELLI, DAVE MOORE (KOREA), LILIAN AND CRAIG OLMSTEAD, JOHN STEIGER, PAT DALPIAZ, AMY KERR, BARBARA T. (JEWETT, NY), ROBERTA C. ((NY), MARIANNE G. (WINDHAM, NY), PAULA RYAN O’BRIEN (WALTON, NY), MARTHA SWANSON, KIM TEIGER, JUDITH FOLEY (WOBURN), PATTI SULLIVAN, RONN FARREN, SUSAN NADWORNY (MELROSE), DIANE LINDQUIST (MANCHESTER), HEIDI SHRIVER (PENNSYLVANIA), JENNIFER CULLEN, TOM HAUCK, AND ANONYMOUS PERSONS FOR THEIR GENEROUS HELP.

$500.00 RAISED OVERNIGHT FROM FIVE NEW GENEROUS DONORS FOR BEAUTY ON THE WING!

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$22,765.00!!! RAISED FOR BEAUTY ON THE WING DOCUMENTARY! THANK YOU KIND DONORS!!!!!!!!!!!

WITH THE GREATEST APPRECIATION FOR OUR COMMUNITY OF FRIENDS AND SPONSORS, I AM OVERJOYED TO SHARE THAT TO DATE WE HAVE RAISED $22,765.00 FOR THE DOCUMENTARY FILM “BEAUTY ON THE WING” ONLINE FUNDRAISER!!!

Friends of the Monarch Butterfly: If you would like to help towards the completion of the documentary film Beauty on the Wing: Life Story of the Monarch Butterfly, please consider making a tax deductible donation here:

DONATE HERE

Donors contributing over $5,000. will be listed in the credits as a film producer.

For more information, visit the film’s website here: Monarch Butterfly Film

For an overview of the film’s budget, please go here: Budget

Thank you so very much for your help.

With gratitude,

Kim

MY DEEPEST THANKS AND GRATITUDE TO LAUREN MERCADANTE (PRODUCER), SUSAN FREY (PRODUCER), NEW ENGLAND BIOLABS FOUNDATION, BOB AND JAN CRANDALL, MARY WEISSBLUM, SHERMAN MORSS, JAY FEATHERSTONE, MARION F., ELAINE M., KIMBERLY MCGOVERN, MEGAN HOUSER (PRIDES CROSSING), NANCY MATTERN (ALBUQUERQUE), DONNA STOMAN, PEGGY O’MALLEY, JOEY C., CATHERINE RYAN, JOEANN HART, JANE PAZNIK BONDARIN (NEW YORK), ROBERT REDIS (NEW YORK), NUBAR ALEXANIAN, PETER VAN DEMARK, PATRICIA VAN DERPOOL, FRED FREDERICKS (CHELMSFORD), LESLIE HEFFRON, JIM MASCIARELLI, DAVE MOORE (KOREA), LILIAN AND CRAIG OLMSTEAD, JOHN STEIGER, PAT DALPIAZ, AMY KERR, BARBARA T. (JEWETT, NY), ROBERTA C. ((NY), MARIANNE G. (WINDHAM, NY), PAULA RYAN O’BRIEN (WALTON, NY), MARTHA SWANSON, KIM TEIGER, JUDITH FOLEY (WOBURN), PATTI SULLIVAN, RONN FARREN, SUSAN NADWORNY (MELROSE), DIANE LINDQUIST (MANCHESTER), HEIDI SHRIVER (PENNSYLVANIA), JENNIFER CULLEN, TOM HAUCK, AND ANONYMOUS PERSONS FOR THEIR GENEROUS HELP.

Your Daily Monarch Photo – Monarch Butterflies, Painted Lady Butterfly, and Bee Nectaring at Seaside Goldenrod

$22,265.00 RAISED FOR  BEAUTY ON THE WING!!!

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$22,265.00!!! RAISED FOR BEAUTY ON THE WING DOCUMENTARY! THANK YOU KIND DONORS!!!!!!!!!!!

WITH THE GREATEST APPRECIATION FOR OUR COMMUNITY OF FRIENDS AND SPONSORS, I AM OVERJOYED TO SHARE THAT TO DATE WE HAVE RAISED $22,265.00 FOR THE DOCUMENTARY FILM “BEAUTY ON THE WING” ONLINE FUNDRAISER!!!

Friends of the Monarch Butterfly: If you would like to help towards the completion of the documentary film Beauty on the Wing: Life Story of the Monarch Butterfly, please consider making a tax deductible donation here:

DONATE HERE

Donors contributing over $5,000. will be listed in the credits as a film producer.

For more information, visit the film’s website here: Monarch Butterfly Film

For an overview of the film’s budget, please go here: Budget

Thank you so very much for your help.

With gratitude,

Kim

MY DEEPEST THANKS AND GRATITUDE TO LAUREN MERCADANTE (PRODUCER), SUSAN FREY (PRODUCER), NEW ENGLAND BIOLABS FOUNDATION, BOB AND JAN CRANDALL, MARY WEISSBLUM, SHERMAN MORSS, JAY FEATHERSTONE, MARION F., ELAINE M., KIMBERLY MCGOVERN, DONNA STOMAN, PEGGY O’MALLEY, JOEY C., CATHERINE RYAN, JOEANN HART, JANE PAZNIK BONDARIN (NEW YORK), ROBERT REDIS (NEW YORK), NUBAR ALEXANIAN, PETER VAN DEMARK, PATRICIA VAN DERPOOL, FRED FREDERICKS (CHELMSFORD), LESLIE HEFFRON, JIM MASCIARELLI, DAVE MOORE (KOREA), LILIAN AND CRAIG OLMSTEAD, JOHN STEIGER, PAT DALPIAZ, AMY KERR, BARBARA T. (JEWETT, NY), ROBERTA C. ((NY), MARIANNE G. (WINDHAM, NY), PAULA RYAN O’BRIEN (WALTON, NY), MARTHA SWANSON, KIM TEIGER, JUDITH FOLEY (WOBURN), PATTI SULLIVAN, RONN FARREN, SUSAN NADWORNY (MELROSE), HEIDI SHRIVER (PENNSYLVANIA), JENNIFER CULLEN, TOM HAUCK, AND ANONYMOUS PERSONS FOR THEIR GENEROUS HELP.

 

SPECIAL FILM SCREENING OFFER!

Donors contributing $20.00 or more will be invited to a very special screening preview party of the documentary Beauty on the Wing: Life Story of the Monarch Butterfly.

Consider the cost of a movie ticket, beverage, and popcorn is $20.00. By contributing to the film’s online fundraising campaign, you will help bring it to theaters and classrooms. Contributors will be invited to the film’s preview screening party and be amongst the first to see this stunning film!

One of the many ways that you will find Beauty on the Wing to be unique is that it was filmed entirely on location, outdoors, and in nature. There are absolutely no computer generated graphics. The life cycle scenes were filmed on Cape Ann, in meadows, dunes, and gardens (not laboratories). Flight scenes are not simulated, but filmed on location, predominantly on Cape Ann, some in Angangueo, and also Santa Barbara, Westport, Cape May, and Stone Harbor Point. Mostly though, through story telling and cinematography, the film shines a beautiful light on the Monarch migration as it unfolds on the shores of Cape Ann, portraying our community and the natural world of Cape Ann as we would hope to be revealed to the world at large.Cape Ann Monarch Butterfly Habitat

MONARCH BUTTERFLY FILM SCREENING OFFER!

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ANNOUNCING A SPECIAL FILM SCREENING OFFER!

Donors contributing $20.00 or more will be invited to a very special screening preview party of the documentary Beauty on the Wing: Life Story of the Monarch Butterfly.

Consider the cost of a movie ticket, beverage, and popcorn is $20.00. By contributing to the film’s online fundraising campaign, you will help bring it to theaters and classrooms. Contributors will be invited to the film’s preview screening party and be amongst the first to see this stunning film!

One of the many ways that you will find Beauty on the Wing to be unique is that it was filmed entirely on location, outdoors, and in nature. There are absolutely no computer generated graphics. The life cycle scenes were filmed on Cape Ann, in meadows, dunes, and gardens (not laboratories). Flight scenes are not simulated, but filmed on location, predominately on Cape Ann, some in Angangueo, and also Santa Barbara, Westport, Cape May, and Stone Harbor Point.

Mostly though, through story telling and cinematography, the film shines a beautiful light on the Monarch migration as it unfolds on the shores of Cape Ann, portraying our community and the natural world of Cape Ann as we would hope to be revealed to the world at large.

Friends of the Monarch Butterfly: If you would like to help towards the completion of the documentary film Beauty on the Wing: Life Story of the Monarch Butterfly, please consider making a tax deductible donation here:

DONATE HERE

Donors contributing over $5,000. will be listed in the credits as a film producer.

For more information, visit the film’s website here: Monarch Butterfly Film

For an overview of the film’s budget, please go here: Budget

Thank you so very much for your help.

With gratitude,

Kim

Many folks assume when viewing the trailer that the scene of the single Monarch floating towards the Eastern Point Lighthouse was computer generated. It was not. The scene is the result of the filmmaker standing on the Lighthouse lawn, waiting for just the perfect fleeting moment. Every aspect of the film is genuine and true to the nature of Cape Ann, and to all the locations where filmed. Another example is the film’s ambient soundtrack–of songbirds, crickets, foghorns, train whistles, boat engines, roosters crowing, et. al.,– every sound was captured live on location.

*  * *


Monarchs in New Jersey and a migration update will be posted tomorrow! The above photos shows a roost of Monarchs at Stone Harbor Point in the golden light of late day.

WHERE DO ALL THE MONARCHS GO?

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Monarch Butterfly and Seaside Goldenrod at Gooseberry Island, Westport

After departing the shores of Cape Ann in autumn, where is the Monarch’s next destination on their several thousand mile journey to Mexico? Our Cape Ann Monarchs join the stream of Monarchs that are migrating southward along the Atlantic Coast. They hug the coastline, crossing bays and ponds, and pausing at beaches to nectar and rest when caught in a headwind or during a storm. When weather and habitat variables combine to create a favorable year for the Monarchs, there may be tens of thousands, perhaps hundreds of thousands, of butterflies traveling along the Atlantic Coast beaches.

The Gooseberry Island old lookout tower is surrounded by a sea of Seaside Goldenrod.

The next major stopover is Westport in Massachusetts, at Gooseberry Island and Allen’s Pond Wildlife Sancturary. Here they find dunes and fields of nectar-rich wildflowers such as Frost Asters, Purple-stemmed Asters, Seaside Goldenrod, Knapweed, Red Clover, and more.

Monarchs drinking nectar from Red Clover at Allen’s Pond Middle Meadow

The sanctuary at Allen’s Pond is host to many species of butterflies during the Monarch’s fall migration, including Clouded Sulphurs, Orange Sulphurs, and Painted Ladies.  They, too, drink nectar from the Knapweed, Red Clover, asters, goldenrod, and Black Mustard in the sanctuary fields.

The Atlantic Monarchs next head to New York, traveling along the coast of Long Island, from the eastern tip of Montauk, southwest to Fire Island, and continuing to Coney Island. On the day of October 9th, because of a storm passing through, a batch of migrating Monarchs was “stuck” on Plumb Island in Brooklyn.  After the storm passed the following morning, tens of thousand of Monarchs were observed flying over the dunes and along the beach, resuming their journey south.

Monarchs in the gardens at Battery Park with ferry to the Statue of Liberty in the background. Liv photo and video (below).

Our daughter Liv reports that over the weekend of October 21-22, New York City was teeming with Monarchs. She observed hundreds at Coney Island on Saturday, and even more at the gardens at Battery Park on Sunday. Liv has even seen them in the NYC underground subway stations!

After departing the shores of Long Island and NYC, the next great stopover and roosting area is Cape May, New Jersey. The Monarchs pause along the way, stopping to drink nectar and rest on the barrier beaches of the Jersey Shore. Latest field reports suggest that the dunes and fields of Cape May are rife with Seaside Goldenrod that is still in bloom. I am on my way there today and will report all that I see.

From Cape May Point the Monarchs travel ten miles across the Delaware Bay, then journey along the eastern shores of Delaware, Maryland, and Virginia. Some years the Monarchs converge by the millions at the Virginia National Wildlife Refuge waiting for the right winds to carry them across the Chesapeake Bay.

Some Monarch Butterflies travel to Florida, but most are funneled in through the Appalachian and Rocky Mountains, on into Texas and central Mexico.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BaIN9gcFtxOrWP27M6OactjFI6UB_VYRPCaaU00/

If you would like to help towards the completion of my documentary film Beauty on the Wing: Life Story of the Monarch Butterfly, filmed in the wilds of Cape Ann and Angangueo, Mexico, please consider making a tax deductible donation here:

DONATE HERE

Donors contributing over $5,000. will be listed in the credits as a film producer.

For more information, visit the film’s website here: Monarch Butterfly Film

For an overview of the film’s budget, please go here: Budget

Thank you so very much for your help.

With gratitude,

Kim Smith

 

$20,450.00 RAISED FOR “BEAUTY ON THE WING” DOCUMENTARY! THANK YOU KIND DONORS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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WITH THE GREATEST JOY AND APPRECIATION FOR OUR COMMUNITY OF FRIENDS AND SPONSORS, I AM OVERJOYED TO SHARE THAT TO DATE WE HAVE RAISED $20,450.00 FOR THE DOCUMENTARY FILM “BEAUTY ON THE WING” ONLINE FUNDRAISER!!!

MY DEEPEST THANKS AND GRATITUDE TO LAUREN MERCADANTE (PRODUCER), SUSAN FREY (PRODUCER), NEW ENGLAND BIOLABS FOUNDATION, LAUREN M., MARION F., ELAINE M., DONNA STOMAN, PEGGY O’MALLEY, JOEY C., CATHERINE RYAN, JOEANN HART, JANE PAZNIK BONDARIN AND ROBERT REDIS (BOTH FROM NEW YORK), NUBAR ALEXANIAN, PETER VAN DEMARK, PATRICIA VAN DERPOOL, FRED FREDERICKS (CHELMSFORD), LESLIE HEFFRON, JIM MASCIARELLI, DAVE MOORE (KOREA), LILIAN AND CRAIG OLMSTEAD, JOHN STEIGER, PAT DALPIAZ, AMY KERR, BARBARA T. (JEWETT, NY), ROBERTA C. ((NY), MARIANNE G. (WINDHAM, NY), PAULA O’BRIEN (WALTON, NY), TOM HAUCK, AND ANONYMOUS PERSONS FOR THEIR GENEROUS HELP.

If you would like to help towards the completion of my documentary film Beauty on the Wing: Life Story of the Monarch Butterfly, filmed in the wilds of Cape Ann and Angangueo, Mexico, please consider making a tax deductible donation here:

DONATE HERE

Donors contributing over $5,000. will be listed in the credits as a film producer.

For more information, visit the film’s website here: Monarch Butterfly Film

For an overview of the film’s budget, please go here: Budget

Thank you so very much for your help.

With gratitude,

Kim SmithMonarch Silhouettes at Twilight 

THE LATE GREAT MONARCH MIGRATION CONTINUES AND THANK YOU KIND DONORS FOR CONTRIBUTING TO “BEAUTY ON THE WING” $5,300.00 RAISED TO DATE!!!

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WITH THANKS AND GRATITUDE FOR THE KIND GENEROSITY OF OUR COMMUNITY, TO DATE WE HAVE RAISED OVER $5,300.00 FOR MY DOCUMENTARY FILM “BEAUTY ON THE WING: LIFE STORY OF THE MONARCH BUTTERFLY” ONLINE FUNDRAISER!!! MY DEEPEST APPRECIATION TO NEW ENGLAND BIOLABS FOUNDATION, LAUREN M., MARION F., ELAINE M., DONNA STOMAN, PEGGY O’MALLEY, JOEY C., CATHERINE RYAN, JOEANN HART, JANE PAZNIK BONDARIN AND ROBERT REDIS (BOTH FROM NEW YORK), NUBAR ALEXANIAN, PETER VAN DEMARK, PATRICIA VAN DERPOOL, FRED FREDERICKS (CHELMSFORD), LESLIE HEFFRON, JIM MASCIARELLI, DAVE MOORE (KOREA), LILIAN AND CRAIG OLMSTEAD, JOHN STEIGER, PAT DALPIAZ, AMY KERR, BARBARA T. (JEWETT, NY), ROBERTA C. ((NY), MARIANNE G. (WINDHAM, NY), TOM HAUCK, AND ANONYMOUS PERSONS FOR THEIR GENEROUS HELP.

If you would like to help towards the completion of my documentary film Beauty on the Wing: Life Story of the Monarch Butterfly, filmed in the wilds of Cape Ann and Angangueo, Mexico, please consider making a tax deductible donation here:

DONATE HERE

Donors contributing over $5,000. will be listed in the credits as a film producer.

For more information, visit the film’s website here: Monarch Butterfly Film

For an overview of the film’s budget, please go here: Budget

Thank you so very much for your help.

With gratitude,

Kim Smith

 *   *   *

The Monarchs migrating through our region, although higher in number than in recent years, are also later than usual. The greater numbers are attributed to the tremendous amount of eggs and caterpillars reported this summer and, too, the beautiful warm weather we are enjoying has allowed eggs, caterpillars, and chrysalides to mature. In a typical year, the onset of colder autumn temperatures would have halted the larvae’s development. Hopefully, the Monarchs will arrive to the sanctuaries in Mexico before the cold puts the kibosh on this late migration.

Another problem facing the Monarchs is that most flowers have cycled through their bloom power. The butterflies will be challenged to find nectar producing flora to fortify them on the journey south. This type of ecological mismatch is increasing and very negatively affects wildlife species worldwide.

Today, October 19, there were about two dozen Monarchs at Eastern Point. The only wild plants in bloom at the Point are Purple-stemmed Asters and dandelions. As the effects of global climate change pose increasing threat to wildlife, we can help the migrating butterflies, and all pollinators, by planting nectar-rich flora that blooms in succession from April through November. These actions will help mitigate some of the mismatching happening right now.

Monarchs and Purple-stemmed Asters

One sleepy little Monarch in the trees this morning at daybreak. Monarch Flakes -2  Eastern Point Lighthouse  

MONARCH MIGRATION UPDATE AND THANK YOU KIND DONORS FOR CONTRIBUTING TO MY DOCUMENTARY “BEAUTY ON THE WING!”

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I AM OVERJOYED TO SHARE THAT WE HAVE RAISED OVER $2,500.00 IN THE FIRST WEEK OF “BEAUTY ON THE WING” ONLINE FUNDRAISER!!! MY DEEPEST THANKS AND GRATITUDE  TO NEW ENGLAND BIOLABS, LAUREN M., MARION F., ELAINE M., DONNA STOMAN, PEGGY O’MALLEY, JOEY C., CATHERINE RYAN, JOEANN HART, JANE PAZNIK BONDARIN AND ROBERT REDIS (BOTH FROM NEW YORK), NUBAR ALEXANIAN, PETER VAN DEMARK, PATRICIA VAN DERPOOL, FRED FREDERICKS, LESLIE HEFFRON, JIM MASCIARELLI, DAVE MOORE (KOREA), LILIAN AND CRAIG OLMSTEAD, TOM HAUCK, AND ANONYMOUS PERSONS FOR THEIR GENEROUS HELP.  
If you would like to help towards the completion of my documentary film Beauty on the Wing: Life Story of the Monarch Butterfly, filmed in the wilds of Cape Ann and Angangueo, Mexico, please consider making a tax deductible donation here:

DONATE HERE

Donors contributing over $5,000. will be listed in the credits as a film producer.

For more information, visit the film’s website here: Monarch Butterfly Film

For an overview of the film’s budget, please go here: Budget

Thank you so very much for your help.

With gratitude,

Kim Smith

Cape Ann Monarch Migration Update October 16, 2017

Monarchs roosting overnight in the old chokecherry tree.

We have had four beautiful waves of Monarchs pouring into Cape Ann. The first arrived on September 23rd and the fourth departed last Wednesday morning, on the eleventh of October. As there are reports of Monarchs still further north, we should be expecting at least one more wave, quite possibly this week. And, too, my friend Patti found several Monarch caterpillars in her garden only several days ago. These caterpillars won’t be ready to fly to Mexico for another week to ten days at least. If this warm weather continues, we may still yet have more batches coming through in the coming weeks.

What can you do to help the Monarchs, Painted Ladies, bees, Ruby-throated Hummingbirds, and all pollinators at this time of year? Don’t tidy up the garden just yet!  When you cut back remaining flowering stalks and sprigs, you are depriving winged creatures of much needed, and less readily available, nourishment. Bees, and migrating butterflies on the wing, especially Monarchs, need nectar throughout their journey to Mexico. Songbirds eat the seeds of expiring flowering stalks.

I keep my client’s gardens neat and tidy at this time of year by pulling out the occasional dead plant and trimming away dried out foliage. In deference to the pollinators, the very best time of year to plant bulbs and organize the garden for the following year, is after November 1st, at the very earliest. And even then, if for example my Korean Daisies are still blooming, I work around the plant. Usually in November and up until the first frost, it is covered in bees. I’ve had many a Monarch pass through my garden in November and the Korean Daisies were there at the ready to provide nectar for weary travelers.

I keep my client’s gardens neat and tidy at this time of year by pulling out the occasional dead plant and trimming away dried out foliage. In deference to the pollinators, the very best time of year to plant bulbs and organize the garden for the following year, is after November 1st, at the very earliest. And even then, if for example my Korean Daisies are still blooming, I work around the plant. Usually in November and up until the first frost, it is covered in bees. I’ve had many a Monarch pass through my garden in November and the Korean Daisies were there at the ready to provide nectar for weary travelers.

Patti’s Caterpillar, found in her garden on October 14th. He’s now at our home in a terrarium, happily munching away on Common Milkweed leaves. I leave him outdoors in a sunny location during the day but bring him indoors late in the afternoon because the air temperature is dropping considerably at night. Patti Papow Photo

HOW YOU CAN HELP FUND MY MONARCH BUTTERFLY FILM!

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I AM OVERJOYED TO SHARE THAT WE HAVE RAISED 1800.00 IN THE FIRST TWO DAYS OF “BEAUTY ON THE WING” ONLINE FUNDRAISER!!! MY DEEPEST THANKS  TO LAUREN M., DONNA STOMAN, PEGGY O’MALLEY, JOEY C, ELAINE M., CATHERINE RYAN, JOEANN HART, JANE PAZNIK BONDARIN AND ROBERT REDIS (BOTH FROM NEW YORK), AND ANONYMOUS PERSONS FOR THEIR GENEROUS HELP.  

Dear Friends,

Today I am excited to launch the online fundraising campaign for my documentary film Beauty on the Wing: Life Story of the Monarch Butterfly.

This film—more than five years in the making—chronicles the extraordinary story of the Monarch butterfly. Tiny creatures, each weighing less than a paperclip, journey thousands of miles from their northern breeding grounds, of which Cape Ann is an integral part, to the trans-volcanic mountaintops of central Mexico. The most magical thing is that their story unfolds in our own backyards, marshes, meadows, and fields. Beauty on the Wing reveals the interconnection between the butterfly’s habitat and wildflowers and the importance of conserving their ecosystems. The film is unique in that every stage of the butterfly’s life cycle is recorded in vibrant close-up in the wild, both on Cape Ann and in Mexico.

The current goal is to raise funds to create a 55-minute feature-length final cut to distribute to elementary schools nationwide. My fundraising partner is the nonprofit Filmmakers Collaborative and donations are tax deductible. Please consider donating what you can. No donation is too small ($5, $25, $100) and every dollar helps get us one step closer to completing the film.

DONATE HERE

Donors contributing over $5,000 will be listed in the credits as a film producer.

For more information, visit the film’s website here: Monarch Butterfly Film

For an overview of the film’s budget, please go here: Budget

Thank you so very much for your help.

With gratitude,

Kim Smith

Pure magic in the marsh this morning! For one moment, there were eight Monarchs on this single spray of Seaside Goldenrod.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BZ7AgYml1koxVpEtiuxZHIowzTQrC1NUYL8Mbo0/