National Butterfly Center Hits a Wall—And Keeps Going
As Published in American Butterflies, Summer 2019
A pre-dawn awakening ahead of a beautiful day at the National Butterfly Center, used to be filled with anticipation of Guatemalan Crackers, Malachites and an untold measure of magnificent creatures!
Each morning was filled with dew and a long list of ‘to-dos’, designed to keep us growing. Staff meetings focused on guest experience, educational programs and maintenance tasks, inventory management and upcoming events. Not so long ago, I felt attuned to the seasonal changes of the place, the peculiar rhythm of the plants, never static, and the special magic of the center, bustling with happy energy and contagious curiosity from members and schoolchildren.
But that was before the battle for border wall began.
In retrospect, I relished the routine—that routine—before the ‘disaster tourists’ and MAGA hats started showing up, asking us to show them where Trump’s monument would be built from sea to shining sea.
For those who have not followed us on Facebook or seen the stream of headlines related to the “Butterflies vs. the Border Wall,” allow me to bring you up to speed on how your project and our mission have been affected by a national agenda in direct conflict with environmental conservation.
Rio Grande In Memoriam
Border Community to Hold Public Response to Regulated Theft of Its Beloved River
(Mission, TX)-- A public ritual is planned to mourn the end of a way of life and inspire resistance. On Sunday, May 26, the day before the Memorial Day holiday, the No Border Wall Grassroots Coalition and other sponsoring organizations are planning an alternative celebration, more reckoning than relaxing. At 4:00 - 8:30 pm the public is invited to the National Butterfly Center in Mission, Texas, to partake in a multi-faceted experience at the banks of the Rio Grande—invocation, procession, offering, community sing/voces del pueblo, and a meal—to memorialize the river that will be lost if the federal government walls it off from South Texas communities and the rest of the United States.
“We, who reside on the Rio Grande Delta, will not cede our river without a fight for our heritage,” said Jonathan Salinas, an organizer of next Sunday’s event and a spokesman for the coalition. “In Memoriam Rio Grande is not designed as a regular protest with speeches, signs and chants. This is something different, something meant to go deeper—a protest of the soul, if you will.”
Weber's 'Checkpoint Carlos' Coming to the National Butterfly Center
(Mission, TX) – ‘Checkpoint Carlos’ by Doerte Weber, is coming to the National Butterfly Center, December 30, 2018. This large-as-life artwork representative of the border wall will arrive before the bulldozers are scheduled to show in February, to give Valley residents and visitors a taste of what the landscape will look like once the center is bisected by 36 ft of concrete and steel.
Weber, a dual citizen of Germany and the United States, created this exhibit named after Checkpoint Charlie at the Berlin Wall, to challenge viewer’s impressions of security, sovereignty and beauty.
“Growing up in West Germany, it was always difficult to cross to East Germany,” Doerte explains. “It was not a pleasant time. One never knew what might happen to you; how long they might hold you at the border crossing.”
Given the increasing militarization of the border, where concertina wire is strung and troops have been deployed, the idea that people will sacrifice freedom for some sense of protection, even if it is an illusion, is particularly relevant. For this reason Doerte’s tapestries, depicting butterflies and steel bollards, woven from plastic newspaper delivery bags, are timely and terrible.
“Contemplating this wall, my first thought is that a free press is fundamental to a free society, however, we live in an era of warring ‘news’ machines and media distrust,” states Marianna Trevino Wright, executive director of the National Butterfly Center. “Then I marvel at how the artist has recycled materials—plastics that have a devastating impact on wildlife and the environment—and made them into something beneficial by transforming refuse into art.
“While it is hard to escape the damage that will be done to private property in the short-term, this depiction of the wall tells another story,” continues Wright. “It is one of decay. As the plastic dries and cracks, exposed to the elements, so will the concrete crumble and disintegrate, one day, destroyed by Nature or by Man.”
Doerte’s walls will go up inside and outside the National Butterfly Center for several reasons. First, the artist insists her art is for all to see, regardless of status, education, age or income; second, this wall of plastic recalls the temporary “safety fencing” used to create barriers to entry for construction zones, which the center will soon be; and third, because the artist intends for everyone who passes to understand that plastics—like policies—have the potential to help and to harm.
To learn more about the ‘Checkpoint Carlos’ exhibit and future plans for the artist’s reception, call 956.583.5400. To learn more about the National Butterfly Center, and how you can join us, visit www.nationalbutterflycenter.org. Your annual membership or charitable gift impacts the beauty of our community and helps preserve the biologically diverse, natural treasures of deep South Texas.
###
The National Butterfly Center is committed to ‘Growing Connections’ between people, plants, and the winged wonders that pollinate and propagate all that grows around us. We do this through educational and environmental initiatives that cultivate meaningful understanding of the processes that create sustainable ecosystems. The Center is open to the public, for visitors and members, seven days/week.
Don’t Miss the Monarch 5K Trail Run
(Mission, TX) – November 3, the National Butterfly Center will kick off the 23rd Annual Texas Butterfly Festival with the second 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 has been 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.
It’s Time for Texas’ 3rd Annual Pollinator BioBlitz
(Mission, TX) – It’s time for Texas’ third, statewide Pollinator BioBlitz! This intensive period of citizen-driven data collection has been expanded to cover more than two weeks, from October 5 – October 21, 2017, in an effort to bring attention to the critical habitat needs of Monarchs and other pollinators across the state.
As part of the BioBlitz, teachers, private citizens, scouts, clubs and civic groups are all invited to get outdoors and observe pollinators of all types. To learn more and register for this event, visit https://tpwd.texas.gov/education/bioblitz, so you may receive daily challenges and informative links.
The BioBlitz is designed to be fun for all ages, with no experience required. Participants are simply asked to look for pollinators, such as bees, butterflies and moths, and nectar-producing plants; photograph or take video of them; and post discoveries online via Instagram, using the hashtag #TXPollinators.
Media