Let’s design a butterfly garden

Learn more about pollinators, plants, and how to create a butterfly garden with this activity from our educators!

Summary: Students will work individually or in groups to design a butterfly garden that could be planted in a local area (park, schoolyard, home, etc.). Students will research the habitat requirements for one or more species of butterfly and draw up a design with the placement and names of the plant species chosen.  

*Adapted from Schoolyard Ecology Explorations – Monarchs in the Classroom, University of Minnesota

Objectives:

• Research habitat needs of butterfly species
• Design a butterfly garden that would support one or more species of butterfly

Materials:

Per Class

• Plants for Pollinators brochure
• Nature Museum’s native gardening resource
• Additional books/websites/blogs with information on butterfly habitats
  • 6 Common Butterflies You’ll See In Chicago Parks and Gardens
  • Chicago Butterflies!
  • Magnificent Milkweed
  • What Are Host Plants?
• Gardening/plant catalogs (optional)

Per Group

• Colored pencils or crayons

Per Student

• Graph Paper
• Rulers
• Butterfly Garden background information handout

Procedure: 

Engage:

1. Ask students how many of them have ever gardened before or have seen someone garden? Encourage them to share their experiences along with their favorite/least favorite parts, what they grew, and why they think gardens are important.
2. Discuss the different requirements to maintain a healthy garden (water, sunlight, soil).
3. Ask students how they think different insects might use a garden (food, shelter, reproduction).

Prepare to Explore:

4. Introduce the idea of a butterfly garden. What specific requirements would a butterfly need to survive? They lay eggs and the caterpillars feed on only one or a few types of plants (host plants). The pupa then hangs from, or attaches, to a plant part. The adult nectars from a variety of flowers.
5. Provide students with the Butterfly Garden Background Information page.

Explore:

6. Tell students that today they will be designing a butterfly garden that should provide a habitat for multiple species of butterflies (including food sources and shelter for both the larva and adult stages of the butterfly).
7. Provide students with graph paper, colored pencils/crayons, a ruler and gardening/plant catalogs (if available).
8. If applicable, students should try to make their garden ‘to scale’ where one inch on their paper equals 5 feet on the ground. The garden does NOT need to be a rectangle.
9. Have students include some (or all) of the following design requirements in their garden:
   1. Flowers must be blooming in spring, summer and fall
   2. Include a variety of plant heights
   3. Have at least one tree or shrub
   4. Include at least 8 species of plant in the garden

Reflect and Share:

10. Have the students share their designs and discuss how different species of butterfly could use each section of their design. Where are some possible places that a butterfly garden like this could be planted?