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Maureen Wallenfang
Appleton Post-Crescent
Published 10:10 PM EDT May 13, 2020
Butterfly Gardens of Wisconsin will be closed for most of the summer, if not all of it, because of concerns over the potential spread of the coronavirus.
The facility’s smaller spaces, like its butterfly house, get crowded when large groups arrive from day care or senior facilities.
“We do not know what the summer will bring, but it’s highly unlikely we’ll be open,” said Jack Voight, owner with wife Marty.
“We’d like to be open by the monarch migration in late August. We have a monarch migration festival, probably the third week of August. It could still happen,” he said.
The seven-acre property features butterfly gardens, trails, a maze and a community center in the town of Center, about 2 miles north of Interstate 41 on State 47.
“We know that we will have many disappointed visitors,” he said. “In the past seven years we have been averaging about 5,000 visitors every summer.”
The business is also currently in the process of being switched from the couple’s private ownership to nonprofit 501(c)(3) status. It will have a board of directors and members under the new name Friends of Butterfly Gardens, Inc.
“We had to make a financial decision for our privately owned nature center, which has never earned a profit. I believe the newly created nonprofit membership organization will create many new beneficial opportunities for our community,” Voight said. “It allows the community to be actively involved in the future of the gardens. It will be a public venture that will be sustainable.”
Proceeds of its “stay-at-home” monarch raising kits will go to Friends of Butterfly Gardens’ operational expenses.
Kits sell for $30 and include caterpillars, potted milkweed plants and instructions. Kits that also include a large butterfly cage are $50. Sales start June 1.
Advance payment can be by credit card over the phone (920-475-0777) or by check to Friends of Butterfly Gardens and mailed to Voight’s business office, 2508 N. Richmond St., Appleton, WI 54911. Prepaid kits will be ready for pickup in early June, July or August.
Info: butterflygardensofwisconsin.com
Contact reporter Maureen Wallenfang at 920-993-7116 or mwallenfang@postcrescent.com. Follow her on Twitter at @wallenfang.
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