Butterfly wings give way to ‘shiny things’ in Upper St. Clair
Upper St. Clair may soon be a desirable destination for monarch butterflies, thanks to the efforts of resident Emily LaSalle.
LaSalle, a third-grade teacher at USC’s Streams Elementary School, is restoring the butterfly habitat at Wingfield Pines with help from the Allegheny Land Trust, along with students, teachers and parent volunteers.
About 400 milkweed plants in three species – butterfly, common and swamp – were planted June 6 at Wingfield Pines after 15 spots over a 10-acre area were prepped and tilled.
“Growing up on a farm, I’ve always spent the majority of my time outside and have a strong appreciation of nature,” LaSalle said. “While I teach all subjects in school, I have a passion for science education. I’ve collected minerals, fossils, and other nature artifacts my whole life, and that’s something that I love to share with my students.”
Photo courtesy of Emily LaSalle
Photo courtesy of Emily LaSalle
A child plants milkweed at Wingfield Pines in Upper St. Clair to help attract and nourish monarch butterflies.
The milkweed planted by LaSalle and her volunteers were purchased from Monarch Watch, with a $1,100 grant from the organization. An additional $120 purchase of milkweed was funded by Wings, Strings & Shiny Things, a jewelry business started two years ago by LaSalle and her sister Elizabeth Pasquale, a teacher at H.W. Good Elementary School in the Yough School District.
While teaching about the butterfly life cycle, LaSalle was fascinated with the variety of species found all over the world. She said the jewelry business started because they wanted a way to capture the delicate and short-lived beauty of the adult butterfly.
“After teaching about the butterfly life cycle at school, my sister and I became interested in etymology and learning artistic techniques for preserving the wings,” LaSalle said. “They live such a short life as adults, so we obtain them after they expire naturally, essentially up-cycling. All materials are ethically obtained from conservatories, global farming, and an entomologist who we work closely with to ensure that we know the sourcing. With each purchase, we donate to a variety of nonprofit organizations aimed at environmental protection.”
LaSalle said the first six months of their business was spent making connections as to sourcing materials and looking at ways to make jewelry, including soldering, glass cutting and embedding butterflies under glass.
“Besides teaching about butterflies in school, I love walking to the pond at my parents’ house with my boys and watching the monarch butterflies throughout the summer,” said LaSalle. “Over the past two years, it’s been exciting to find a way to tie creativity, science education, and environmental stewardship into all aspects of my life.”
Jewelry from Wings, Strings & Shiny Things is currently for sale at the Louisiana Museum of Art and Natural History, and LaSalle and Pasquale are working to get their jewelry in other museums. They also sell their work at local art festivals and shows, including the Night Markets in Market Square. This November, their work will be included in the Wings and Wildlife Art Show at the National Aviary in Pittsburgh.
With their business goal to “preserve, educate and protect” while looking for ways to help grow interest in the environment locally, LaSalle and Pasquale obtained the grant for milkweed plants for habitat restoration through Monarch Watch. They also took steps to designate two locations in the area as “monarch migration way-stations” through MonarchWatch.org, including covering the cost of registration.
According to Monarch Watch’s website, each fall, hundreds of millions of monarch butterflies migrate from the US and Canada to winter in Mexico and southern California. But that migration is threatened by habitat loss. Milkweeds and nectar sources are declining due to development and the use of herbicides, hence the need for monarch way-stations.
Monarch way-stations are places that provide resources necessary for monarchs to produce successive generations and sustain their migration. Without milkweeds throughout their spring and summer breeding areas in North America, monarchs would not be able to produce successive generations that migrate each fall. Without nectar from flowers, the monarch butterflies would be unable to make their long journey to overwintering grounds.
LaSalle said their business website, www.WingsStringsShinyThings.com, will be updated with photos of the habitats and volunteers, and they will be documenting the growth of the milkweed throughout the summer. Later in the summer, they hope to tag and register resident monarchs so that they can be tracked along the migration route. This fall or early next year, LaSalle would like to plant milkweed in Boyce Mayview Park to continue to expand local monarch habitat.