Monarch garden photo

Art Barn has converted 460 square feet of planting beds to viable breeding and feeding habitat for monarch butterflies, and will host an open house on May 23 to show it off.

VALPARAISO — Monarch butterfly habitat is declining due to development and the widespread use of herbicides in croplands, pastures and roadsides, but a local art center is trying to help the colorful pollinators.

The Art Barn School of Art will celebrate its new monarch habitat with the Valparaiso Chamber of Commerce during a ribbon cutting ceremony on May 23. The instillation of the Monarch-Marker Gardens supports the lifecycle of endangered monarch butterflies, according to Art Barn Executive Director Amy Davis Navardauskas.

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