(Mission, TX) – This November 4, the National Butterfly Center will kick off the 22nd Annual Texas Butterfly Festival with the inaugural Monarch 5K Trail Run & 1K Fun Run. This run is designed to show people a different side of the center, which encompasses 100 acres of cultivated gardens, forested trails and wildscape, where the Southernmost Monarch Waystation is being planted.

In addition to receiving a colorful, commemorative Monarch medal, participants in this year’s run will be given seed bombs of native wildflowers to toss along the trail routes, so that seasonal nectar plants may sprout up and provide the food Monarchs need to make their long journey north in the spring. Historic declines in the Monarch population have led to broad concern and public awareness of the plight of this species, especially along its migratory route.

“We welcome runners, butterfly enthusiasts and families to come have a hand in creating this habitat for Monarchs, while doing what they find rewarding,” states Marianna Trevino Wright, executive director of the National Butterfly Center. “This event is a great addition to the festival’s Community Day, which is designed to help people to discover our project, our purpose and this beautiful place. What could be better than spending a fall morning outside, surrounded by butterflies?!”

This inaugural fun run is produced by the professionals at 2Run Crew to celebrate the incredible volume and variety of butterflies found around the Mission Trails outdoor recreational area that is home to the National Butterfly Center, a National Wildlife Refuge tract and Bentsen-RGV State Park, Headquarters of the World Birding Center.

The conservation work taking place here is complemented and enhanced by residential communities, like Retama Village and Bentsen-Palm RV Resort which have adopted butterfly-friendly landscape practices that also provide breeding and feeding areas for the Monarch and more than 100 other species.

Register for the inaugural Monarch 5K/1K and learn more about the annual Texas Butterfly Festival at www.TexasButterflyFestival.com. This will be a non-timed event for participants at all experience levels, starting at 8 AM, Saturday, November 4.

A project of the North American Butterfly Association (NABA), the National Butterfly Center is focused on GROWING CONNECTIONS between people, plants and pollinators, through environmental education and the conservation of native plant and butterfly species. To learn more, please visit www.nationalbutterflycenter.org, or call 956.583.5400. You can also find us on Facebook.