The number of monarch butterflies in Canada has been falling, and Vaughan will be playing a role in helping to find out why.
A multi-year long research project has been launched by the David Suzuki Foundation, along with Ryan Norris and Tyler Flockhart, who are researchers with the University of Guelph. They will study population dynamics of the butterflies and their migration to try and find out what is the best way to help restore their habitat.
The initial stages of the investigation will be taking place in three different Ontario infrastructure corridors, one of which includes land next to Hydro One’s Claireville Transformer Station which is located in Vaughan.
The other areas of research will be in Uxbridge Subdivision and at a site where their habitat has been restored within the Milne Dam Conservation Park in Markham. A printing company will be able to produce materials that let the people living in these areas know about the study and why it is important, as well as a variety of items that the researchers can use in their work.
The two men who will be conducting the research noted that they feel that the best type of habitat conservation for these migratory butterflies would be if it was in linear corridors that give them the space and plants, such as milkweed, which they need to survive.
