Westmoreland Pollinator Partner
Promote
Preserve
Preserve
Pollinator awareness in our region.
Preserve
Preserve
Preserve
Preserving pollinators and their habitats.
Protect
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Protect our Native Plants, Animals and insects.
Monarch Waystation – July Events 2026
You're invite to the second Monarch Waystation Reunion that will be held on Wednesday, July 22, from 6-8 p.m. at the J. Roy Houston Conservation Center in Greensburg. Attached is a poster with more details or you may learn more and register here. .
Hello Monarch Waystation members,
You're invited to the second Monarch Waystation Reunion that will be held on Wednesday, July 22, from 6-8 p.m. at the J. Roy Houston Conservation Center in Greensburg. Attached is a poster with more details or you may learn more and register here.
Plus, if any of your friends and neighbors are participating in our 250 New Monarch Waystations in America’s Laurel Highlands project, they may collect their certificate and sign at this event. You may recall that the Westmoreland Pollinator Partners want to certify 250 NEW Monarch Waystations in the counties of Cambria, Fayette, Somerset, and Westmoreland. We’re currently at 86 and need your help to reach our goal. If you know of someone interested in native plants and pollinators, invite them to participate in this project. Certification and the sign are free to those who meet the MW requirements until we meet our 250 goal. This is the application to complete and return to me. (It’s easier to fill in and save on a laptop as opposed to your phone.)
I wanted to remind you that submissions to the 6th annual Pennsylvania Pollinator Photo Challenge will be accepted online until August 2nd. Please see the contest webpage for more details and the submission form. Winners and honorable mentions will be announced at the “Monarchs, Milkweeds, and More” (3M) event at the Southern Alleghenies Museum of Art in Ligonier on SATURDAY, August 15. That event runs from 1-4 p.m. and we’ll reveal the winners towards the end of the event, so at about 3:45 p.m.
If you noticed, we moved 3M from a Sunday to a Saturday because we’re joining with Powdermill Nature Reserve, which is holding their “Hummingbird Day” the morning of August 15 from 9 a.m. until Noon, so you can stop by that event in the morning, grab lunch in Ligonier, and then swing by SAMA in the afternoon. Nine conservation organizations will be present with info and activities to share.
Finally, I wanted to point out that Penguin Court is hosting a “Mothing Night” on Friday, July 24 from 8:30-10:30 p.m. –https://www.brandywine.org/conservancy/events/mothing-night-penguin-court-laughlintown-pa-1 weather permitting. We’ll have sheets and lights set up to see what moths call Penguin Court home, and Powdermill Entomologist, Andrea Kautz, will be on hand to help with identification. Remember, moths are fantastic pollinators! This is a fun evening and a great way to spend a summer night. Please see the event post for more info and to register.
Thank you for all you’re doing to support native plants and pollinators.
Best,
Melissa
Melissa Reckner
Penguin Court Program Manager
Brandywine Conservancy
P.O. Box 219
Laughlintown, PA 15655
Office: 724-238-4991
Cell: 814-242-4285
www.brandywine.org/penguin-court
Monarch Watch Events 2026
Host a Pollinator Waystation in your own backyard.
Hello Monarch Waystation members,
Happy 2026! The Westmoreland Pollinator Partners are expecting a busy year. In partnership with the Brandywine Conservancy and its Penguin Court Preserve, a grant application was submitted to the Laurel Highlands Conservation Landscape initiative to support the creation of 250 new Monarch Waystations in the Laurel Highlands, which encompasses Cambria, Fayette, Somerset, and Westmoreland County.
IF funded, we’ll be able to certify 250 new Monarch Waystations this year as our way of honoring the nation’s 250th anniversary. We should learn if this grant request was awarded by the end of February. Stay tuned for details and cross your wings for us!
Classes offered by Monarch Joint Venture, that might interest you and increase your knowledge of monarch butterflies. Please see Monarch Joint Venture for details and to registerer events and classes.
Hello, Monarch Waystation friends,
The Westmoreland Pollinator Partners (WPP) are spearheading an initiative to certify 250 new properties in America’s Laurel Highlands as Monarch Waystations this year, and we need your help!
Recall, in 2023, when Westmoreland County celebrated its 250th anniversary, WPP set a goal to see that 250 Monarch Waystations were certified in the county by the end of that year. That goal was met by August thanks to you! Interest in the program was high, even from landowners outside of the county and so, to honor America’s 250th anniversary this year, WPP wants to certify 250 new properties in the Laurel Highlands as Monarch Waystations.
Where is the Laurel Highlands? Most agree that the Laurel Highlands encompass Fayette, Somerset, and Westmoreland Counties. There is some debate about whether Cambria County should be included, but the Pennsylvania Environmental Council, which oversees the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR) Laurel Highlands Conservation Landscape considers Cambria County part of the Laurel Highlands, and so this project will, too, since a Laurel Highlands Conservation Landscape grant is supporting this project.
WPP will be promoting Monarch Waystation certification by educating the public about the importance of native plant species, especially milkweeds and nectar plants, as well as the need to implement best management practices like not using insecticides or herbicides on your property. We ask that you tell your friends and neighbors about this initiative. Adjacent pollinator gardens are even more impactful across the landscape.
Penguin Court will receive Monarch Waystation applications (attached) from people within the Laurel Highlands, ensure certification requirements are met, and then assign a Monarch Waystation identification number to participants who will be able to pick up their certificate and garden sign at a Monarch Waystation Reunion event in Greensburg on July 22 and then select locations throughout the region.
Globally, Monarch Waystations are overseen by Monarch Watch, a program based at the University of Kansas; however, Penguin Court will receive applications from within the Laurel Highlands until the 250 goal is met. Afterwards, participants’ information will be shared with Monarch Watch to be added to the Monarch Waystation Registry.
Events celebrating monarch butterflies and their habitats are planned. As previously stated, the evening of July 22, a Monarch Waystation Reunion will be held in Greensburg as a fun, casual, and educational gathering of new and established Waystation owners. Then, on August 15, “Wings Over Westmoreland” will serve as an umbrella forHummingbird Day, which will be held from 9 a.m. until Noon at Powdermill Nature Reserve in Rector, and Monarchs, Milkweed and More, which will be held from 1 p.m. until 4 p.m. at the Southern Alleghenies Museum of Art in Ligonier.
At the latter event, winners of the annual Pennsylvania Pollinator Photo Challenge will be revealed.
There is no fee to participate as these activities are supported in part by a grant awarded to Brandywine Conservancy from the Community Conservation Partnerships Program Environmental Stewardship Fund under the administration of the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, Bureau of Recreation and Conservation administered through the Pennsylvania Environmental Council’s Laurel Highlands Mini Grant Program. Brandywine Conservancy, Discover Westmoreland, and FirstEnergy are supplying matching funds, while WPP is providing in-kind contributions.
Thank you for supporting monarch butterflies – and all pollinators – through native plantings and smart land management!
Visit Brandywine’s event page for details and to register.
In some cases, fees apply and registration is required. Please review the attached for more information and contact the Master Gardeners if you have any questions.
Happy learning!
Westmoreland Pollinator Partners
Sincerely,
Melissa Reckner
Program Manager,
Penguin Court
Brandywine Conservancy
P.O. Box 219
Laughlintown, PA 15655
Office: 724-238-4991
Cell: 814-242-4285
National Garden Club – Website
National Garden Club Events
Westmoreland Garden Council is affiliated with the National Garden Club. The National Garden Club features events and flower shows throughout the United States. To find out more click the link below
Westmoreland Garden Council – LeFevre Butterfly Garden
Proud Partners with the Westmoreland Pollinators
Westmoreland Garden Council & the LeFevre Butterfly Garden are part of the Monarch Waystation Program, as are many of the club member's personal gardens.
Formed in 2019, Westmoreland Pollinator Partners is a group of nonprofit organizations, schools, and community gardens dedicated to promoting, protecting, and preserving pollinators and their habitats.
The Westmoreland Pollinator Partners mission is to raise awareness for animals and natives plants that are essential to our regional ecosystem, cultivate and conserves pollinator-friendly habitats, and to engage the people of Westmoreland County with their local environments.
Monarch Watchers on CBS 60 Minutes
Greetings, Monarch Watchers!
We have some fun news to share with you – Monarchs were featured on an episode of 60 Minutes!
Last fall, a CBS News film crew visited Monarch Watch to learn more about our program. We're excited that we were able to contribute to this story.
As you'll see in the promo linked below, the footage at the overwintering sites in Mexico is spectacular.
View "60 Minutes reports on one of nature's great migrations" on YouTube or the CBS website.
Thanks so much for all your support, and we hope you enjoy watching monarchs on 60 Minutes!
–Team Monarch Watch
The University of Kansas