The Macke family from the Warsaw area recently donated and planted, with the help of their friends, some monarch butterfly gardens at Buffalo Street Plaza in Warsaw. The gardens contain common milkweed, whorled milkweed, butterfly weed, black-eyed Susans, purple coneflowers and other native plants beneficial to the insects. From left: Front — Luke Macke and Ellie Macke; back — Jacob Macke, Katie Macke and Warsaw Parks and Recreation Department Maintenance Director Shaun Gardner.

Text and Photos
By Leah Sander
InkFreeNews

WARSAW — Visitors to Buffalo Street plaza should hopefully see multiple monarch butterflies in the near future.

That’s thanks to a donation from Jacob and Katie Macke and their kids, Luke and Ellie.

The family from the Warsaw area and their friends placed common milkweed, whorled milkweed, butterfly weed, black-eyed Susans, purple coneflowers and other native plants beneficial to monarch butterflies in three spots along the plaza.

The kids’ helping raise monarch butterflies while students at Washington STEM Academy inspired the plaza gardens, said Jacob.

“So I (thought) that’s a good idea. So we started doing that in our yard,” he said. “And the more we did it … the more we could get caterpillars and raise them and find out, ‘OK, we need lots of these. Are there any other places where we could do that?'”

Jacob reached out to the Warsaw Parks and Recreation Department, who told him there was space for the gardens.

The family planted them in the middle of May, and they and the department have been caring for them.

“(The plants) take a lot of work in the beginning … but once they get established, then because they’re native plants, they’re pretty low maintenance, and some of them spread really rapidly,” said Jacob.

“I think if it just adds some beauty to the areas that weren’t landscaped, that would be nice. I think it would be interesting for people to see … butterflies or caterpillars (that) start showing up,” he added.

Katie said she hopes the gardens encourage people to plant their own. Luke added the plants add interest to areas that were just bare patches before.

Ellie added she enjoyed planting the gardens and caring for them.

The family purchased the plants at Clayton Garden Center in North Webster. A sign placed in one of the gardens notes the area is a “Monarch Waystation,” with the site registered through the Monarch Watch organization.

Parks and Recreation Superintendent Larry Plummer said he was thankful to the Mackes for putting in the gardens.

“Their efforts remind us of the importance of preserving our natural ecosystem,” he said.

“We’re happy to see this,” said Parks and Recreation Maintenance Director Shaun Gardner, mentioning his own family started raising monarchs during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Getting the information out there on the monarchs, we want to keep them around, and I know the numbers are dwindling, so any little bit that can help is great,” said Gardner.

He said there could be more butterfly gardens planted in Warsaw parks in the future.

A closeup of some of the plants.

A sign in one of the three garden beds notes the area is a “Monarch Waystation,” being registered through the organization Monarch Watch.