Pictured: Kylee Baumle on the left and Erika Willitzer on the right.
Paulding, OH: Kiwanis member Erika Willitzer introduced Kylee Baumle, an expert and enthusiast of monarch butterflies. Although she didn’t start out as an avid gardener Baumle grew to love the monarch after a visit to the Flight 93 memorial in 2006. In the peace garden near the memorial her mother found a dead, tagged monarch and that sparked her interest. Why was it tagged? What did that mean? “The monarch is what led me to think a little more,” says Baumle. After looking up the tagged monarch she spiraled into more facts and information about the beautiful butterfly.
Baumle showed the stages of life of a monarch butterfly with pictures she has taken from her own garden. For not being an avid gardener at first her backyard garden has flourished and is now a stopping point and breeding point for monarchs. She takes frequent trips to Mexico to see the butterfly’s final destination. She showed pictures of trees that look like they’re covered with leaves but in fact they’re thousands of butterflies. The sanctuary is a quiet and peaceful place, and should be on everyone’s bucket list. Kiwanis thanks Kylee for her love and preservation of the monarch and appreciate her enthusiasm and willingness to help.
