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"The Pelee Island Butterfly Sanctuary & Teaching Garden
has a Mission to empower butterflies to help save our planet for generations to come." - Cherie A 'typical' morning at the butterfly sanctuary consists of planning, observations, cleaning then watering onto planting and finally: weeding. ( lots of weeding!). We are always taking note of the overall health of nature, butterfly, and insect populations as the fluctuations in numbers affect the bird population.
On the surface, these are routine tasks; but they are very instrumental steps to nurturing caterpillars which transform into butterflies, which pollenate our planet while inspiring with their magic our hearts and imagination to succeed! |
Click! to enlarge images!
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Butterfly Tours & Curated Experiences
2023 Dates: June 2 - October 8 (Tuesday through Sunday)
Butterfly TOURJoin us for the public tour or arrange for a custom V.I.P private group tour!
This gentle walking tour helps you discover the incredible and fascinating world of butterflies. You will see egg to butterfly transformation cycles. Have you ever wondered how butterflies endure the changing four seasons? You will find out the answer to that question and learn things you never knew you never knew. Come be fascinated by the Pelee Island Butterfly Sanctuary. |
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Butterfly EXPERIENCEAll On-Island Transportation Included!
The Butterfly Experiences showcase many of the island’s top attractions, depending on the Experience you choose! We make it easy to leave your car on the mainland and just walk on the ferry! Just walk off the ferry, turn right and your adventure begins after checking in at the Pelee Island Adventures office adjacent to the Stone House 1891 restaurant. (you can also bring your own vehicle and enjoy this experience if you wish) |
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• all on-island transportation included • 3.25 hour experience (total time for guided and free time portions) • 3:50pm - 6:20pm guided • 6:20pm - 7:20pm Dinner and Drinks • experience finishes in time to make the 8pm ferry off the island |
Hi, I'm Cherie and I am on a life-long mission to rescue butterflies and leave a legacy for generations to come!
Here is a very reflective post from our Facebook page that will share my passion for building The Pelee Island Butterfly Sanctuary . (Facebook, April 21,2023)
On this day it is the eve of the two year anniversary of this garden Pelee Island Butterfly Sanctuary and Teaching Garden. This garden was created as a response to the pandemic, forced change in my personal life..and my desperate desire to save the butterflies as my love for them had brought me through a rough childhood.
I bring you back 48 years and I would sit in the field of my grade school fascinated with butterflies...Curious about how they lived...fascinated by their freedom and lightness...
As an adult I would build gardens for them and hope and pray they would appear. With each new house there became less and less until there were years where I'd only see 2 butterflies in my travels on my annual birthday butterfly count . I started teaching people about the plight of butterflies...it became my mission to save them...but I needed help...
For many years I quietly listened to people's comments about seeing butterflies..some would comment that they noticed more butterflies because of my garden. Then after some years I outwardly tried to educate people to help the butterflies.Things were going well and summertime became a flurry of activity... then the pandemic struck...
The first summer was OK because I used the quiet time to discover "new to me" butterflies. I knew they existed but not all the details about them. Then winter came and fear set in...too much had changed...I had changed, panic was a constant...
So this is the part of the story that is magical...I get signs that are from my guardian angels...I sat watching a YouTube video...it was a doctor interviewing Matthew McConaughey about his book Greenlights. At the start of the video I went up stairs to the window to pet my cat...it was a strange time...no cars on the road as we were in lock down...no people...such quiet...the saying silence is deafening...came to mind.
I went back downstairs watched the video with strange importance...I did not know this man but the book Greenlights just spoke to me...to my situation...somehow to my fears of my butterfly mission being in danger!!! By the end of this video I had to take action!!! But what? How? Where? So many questions....
So I went back upstairs, back to my cat, back to the calmness that pets can bring.... As I'm petting him something had changed...as I look outside during the time I watched the video the streets had not been silent! There had been a person...I could not believe that a person had come to the mailboxes and had ripped the cover off their door! I was frustrated..."who would fix it?" "It was lock down!!" gurrr....one more thing out of place in my mind...one more thing...
The next day I looked out in hopes it was gone..it wasn't... My mind had more questions than answers...I couldn't fix the mailbox, my butterflies were in danger...one more issue
The next day with glasses on I looked out the window as I petted the cat, the mailbox cover now looked more like a book...Even worse now a book was outside! I wasn't going to touch it!! It was a pandemic...gurrr
On the fourth day my friend randomly called me to inform me "rain was coming!" A strange occurrence for February. "If I had something outside I didn't want to get wet I should bring it in".
"It's a pandemic" I said with a bitter tone to my voice! "I have not left the house in months! What could be outside?". I think he must have wondered wait I was thinking being so touchy. With that we got off the phone...
"OH my God the book!"...I thought... "The book with cooties"...it's still a book and I have to retrieve it even though it's been out there for days....
I muster up the courage to get it...armed with gloves and a plan I creep outside. I had become out of sorts with the pandemic and the strangeness of life...
Walking quickly I go to the mailbox and reach up for the book...my heart is racing...it's dark outside...
I grab the book and as I turn the streetlight glow lights up the book......GREENLIGHTS!!! I nearly fainted... This book appeared AS I was watching the video!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! My guardian angels are efficient but this was a whole new level of angel efficiency...I banished the book to quarantine for three weeks in the car...lol. But this moment helped me to be more open to the possibility of saving my butterfly project....This moment gave me faith that angels were around me to help...I still have dark days, dark moments, massive questions but I try to remember that moment that I was given hope that everything would be OK...and the butterfly garden was born...
It would be that one month later a property was found and over the course of time I would be given more signs to keep breathing and move forward. I still don't have it all figured out...the building and financing help to build the garden is epically tricky but each day I dig deep and have faith.... Follow my journey here... If you want to hear more about this journey let me know... If you want to help either by volunteering or by donating so I can find help the GofundMe is here. https://gofund.me/e8d27f3e
Here is a very reflective post from our Facebook page that will share my passion for building The Pelee Island Butterfly Sanctuary . (Facebook, April 21,2023)
On this day it is the eve of the two year anniversary of this garden Pelee Island Butterfly Sanctuary and Teaching Garden. This garden was created as a response to the pandemic, forced change in my personal life..and my desperate desire to save the butterflies as my love for them had brought me through a rough childhood.
I bring you back 48 years and I would sit in the field of my grade school fascinated with butterflies...Curious about how they lived...fascinated by their freedom and lightness...
As an adult I would build gardens for them and hope and pray they would appear. With each new house there became less and less until there were years where I'd only see 2 butterflies in my travels on my annual birthday butterfly count . I started teaching people about the plight of butterflies...it became my mission to save them...but I needed help...
For many years I quietly listened to people's comments about seeing butterflies..some would comment that they noticed more butterflies because of my garden. Then after some years I outwardly tried to educate people to help the butterflies.Things were going well and summertime became a flurry of activity... then the pandemic struck...
The first summer was OK because I used the quiet time to discover "new to me" butterflies. I knew they existed but not all the details about them. Then winter came and fear set in...too much had changed...I had changed, panic was a constant...
So this is the part of the story that is magical...I get signs that are from my guardian angels...I sat watching a YouTube video...it was a doctor interviewing Matthew McConaughey about his book Greenlights. At the start of the video I went up stairs to the window to pet my cat...it was a strange time...no cars on the road as we were in lock down...no people...such quiet...the saying silence is deafening...came to mind.
I went back downstairs watched the video with strange importance...I did not know this man but the book Greenlights just spoke to me...to my situation...somehow to my fears of my butterfly mission being in danger!!! By the end of this video I had to take action!!! But what? How? Where? So many questions....
So I went back upstairs, back to my cat, back to the calmness that pets can bring.... As I'm petting him something had changed...as I look outside during the time I watched the video the streets had not been silent! There had been a person...I could not believe that a person had come to the mailboxes and had ripped the cover off their door! I was frustrated..."who would fix it?" "It was lock down!!" gurrr....one more thing out of place in my mind...one more thing...
The next day I looked out in hopes it was gone..it wasn't... My mind had more questions than answers...I couldn't fix the mailbox, my butterflies were in danger...one more issue
The next day with glasses on I looked out the window as I petted the cat, the mailbox cover now looked more like a book...Even worse now a book was outside! I wasn't going to touch it!! It was a pandemic...gurrr
On the fourth day my friend randomly called me to inform me "rain was coming!" A strange occurrence for February. "If I had something outside I didn't want to get wet I should bring it in".
"It's a pandemic" I said with a bitter tone to my voice! "I have not left the house in months! What could be outside?". I think he must have wondered wait I was thinking being so touchy. With that we got off the phone...
"OH my God the book!"...I thought... "The book with cooties"...it's still a book and I have to retrieve it even though it's been out there for days....
I muster up the courage to get it...armed with gloves and a plan I creep outside. I had become out of sorts with the pandemic and the strangeness of life...
Walking quickly I go to the mailbox and reach up for the book...my heart is racing...it's dark outside...
I grab the book and as I turn the streetlight glow lights up the book......GREENLIGHTS!!! I nearly fainted... This book appeared AS I was watching the video!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! My guardian angels are efficient but this was a whole new level of angel efficiency...I banished the book to quarantine for three weeks in the car...lol. But this moment helped me to be more open to the possibility of saving my butterfly project....This moment gave me faith that angels were around me to help...I still have dark days, dark moments, massive questions but I try to remember that moment that I was given hope that everything would be OK...and the butterfly garden was born...
It would be that one month later a property was found and over the course of time I would be given more signs to keep breathing and move forward. I still don't have it all figured out...the building and financing help to build the garden is epically tricky but each day I dig deep and have faith.... Follow my journey here... If you want to hear more about this journey let me know... If you want to help either by volunteering or by donating so I can find help the GofundMe is here. https://gofund.me/e8d27f3e
