Bandera County residents recently attended the annual Love Creek Preserve butterfly count organized by the Nature Conservancy, logging over 60 different species.
Southern Hill Country Director Becky Neill provided participants with a list of butterfly species to be on the lookout for along with a list of participating ranch owners.
The goal of the event is to track how well the pollinators are doing in the area, with the findings assisting scientists in measuring the health of the land.
“This is our Summer count,” local chapter leader Laura Levy said. “We cover about a 15-mile radius. We work in a lot of private and public places and survey what’s out here. We rank very high in the number of species because we are on so many properties. Then we submit all the information into the nature database, and you are able to look up the information logged too, so to see what lives in your neighborhood.”
The annual event is held at the Love Creek Preserve, Boerne, and in Kerrville on different dates.
“We really need more volunteers for Kerrville,” Levy said. “Reach out to Tom Collins to get involved.”
Attendees are encouraged to bring out cameras and binoculars to log each butterfly they find.
“After this count, we have a scavenger hunt for kids in the area,” Levy said. “The Medina Library opened its doors for us, and we’re excited to get the kids involved in this event.”
“We’ve been trying to look into ways to get the younger generation involved,” Neill said. “The back-to-back drought has caused low activity for butterflies, so we’ve clipped pictures of butterflies around the library and give the kids a guide to identify the butterflies.”
Fourteen kids came out for the event, each one given a goody bag that included a butterfly pencil, eraser, stickers, and homemade butterfly cookies.
“One day they will take our place,” Neill said. “It’s so important to get them interested.”
To learn more about the local Nature Conservancy and how to get involved, visit nature.org/ en-us/get-involved/howto- help/places-we-protect/ love-creek-preserve.
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