SIRCH Release of the Butterflies

Minden Cultural Centre, 1 pm, Sunday, Jun 14, 2015

Imagine holding a small box in the palm of your hand. Or putting it in your child’s hand. Imagine making a wish. Perhaps remembering a loved one. Then opening your box and seeing a beautiful, brilliant butterfly flutter up … and up. Your butterfly is joined by dozens of others. An amazing sight – one that will be remembered for a lifetime! A vision that is both meaningful and beautiful.

This June, SIRCH is introducing a new annual fundraiser to Haliburton County. SIRCH Release of the Butterflies comes to Minden on June 14, 2015. This is a participant-driven fundraiser. With a donation of just $30 you will receive a lovely Painted Lady butterfly, raised on a nearby butterfly farm (Butterflies and Roses, in Lakefield, ON). Painted Lady butterflies lay eggs on a number of natural and garden plants including hollyhock, thistle, sunflowers, clover, lambsquarter, yarrow, mallow and others. Painted Ladies are found all across North America. Even though the butterflies have been raised in protected conditions, they are not domesticated. They are as wild as their counterparts that exist in the area. The healthy butterflies you release, which will be both male and female, will enter the natural environment in our area and reproduce, increasing the numbers of the butterflies locally.

Butterflies are important pollinators. And unlike bees which are generally restricted to a local area, many butterflies are always on the move and can cross pollinate over a large area, improving the genetic mix of genes of the plant community. Ceremonial releases have become an important proactive ecological program for maintaining wild populations of these wonderful insects and also native plants that depend on them.

All proceeds from this fundraiser will go to support SIRCH’s Grief Recovery Groups and Bereavement Support Program.

So join us for SIRCH’s Release of the Butterflies, and watch as the site transforms with beautiful butterflies. To make a donation, and secure your butterfly (or butterflies) for release June 14th, download an order form by clicking the link below.

Butterfly Order Form