Courtesy Post: MIWA and EEL Spring Series Butterfly Programs

**Courtesy Post:** This program series is being co-hosted by Merritt Island Wildlife Association and Environmentally Endangered Lands. Contact event hosts if you have questions.

**Merritt Island Wildlife Association (MIWA) and Environmentally Endangered Lands (EEL) Program invite you to our Spring Series of Butterfly Walks**
Flutter with excitement! Join us for a fascinating exploration of the butterfly life cycle and the importance of native plants. Our program will start with a short education session to learn butterfly basics including differences between skippers, swallowtail and whites/yellows. The education session will include photographs of butterflies commonly seen in our area along with some tips on how to enjoy butterfly watching. Following the presentation, we will visit the native plant gardens to look for butterflies and their host plants. No prior knowledge or skill is required. All ages welcome. We will have the following resources available to use while exploring the gardens: butterfly checklists, field guides to reference for identifications, and folding guides with butterfly images. Our Gift Shops will have butterfly resources available for sale if you want to take a book or guide home to practice.
Home school groups – Meetup limits registration online to 5 guests. Please note in the event comments the total number of students and parents that will be attending if there will be more than 6 in your group.
**About our instructor (Ed Perry):**
Ed Perry recently retired as a 31-year Park Ranger at Sebastian Inlet State Park. He enjoys fishing, butterfly gardening, growing & grafting tropical fruit trees, beachcombing (for sea-beans!), tropical fish aquaria, wildlife photography, and sharing life with his daughter Gayle. Ed is a Florida native who graduated from the University of Florida in 1988. In his retirement life he became interested in being involved in butterfly counts and protecting tracts of native, wild lands within our beautiful state of Florida.
**Spring Series Dates (Register for Each Walk Separately):**
Tuesday, April 16 (Sams House at Pine Island Conservation Area)
Wed, May 1 (Enchanted Forest, Titusville)
Wed, June 12 (Sams House at Pine Island Conservation Area)