Save the Date!



The Arizona Monarch Collaborative Annual Meeting will be held on Tuesday, September 2nd! The meeting will be hosted at Desert Botanical Garden and will feature presentations and updates from AMC and partners on pollinator activities around the state. As usual the meeting will be free to attend and a formal invitation with the option to register will be sent out soon.

Bubbling Ponds and Fish Hatcheries Pollinator Garden Field Trip Recap



Last week, AMC organized a field trip to Page Springs and Bubbling Ponds fish hatcheries. We first met with the hatchery manager Sarah Taylor at Bubbling Ponds where she showed us around the grounds and talked about the plants and insects that can be found on site. Just down the road at Page Springs, we met with Becky Hardy, President of Butterfly Enthusiasts of Northern Arizona (BENA), who helps maintain the on-site pollinator garden. She shared all the ins and outs of how the garden got started, where plants are sourced from, what it takes to maintain the garden, butterfly species that have been observed, and more!

Thank you to every one who attended and made this field trip a success. We look forward to hosting more in the future!

Looking out at one of the ponds at Bubbling Ponds Fish Hatchery

A metalmark butterfly on Arizona milkweed at the Page Springs Fish Hatchery pollinator garden

A queen butterfly caterpillar on climbing milkweed (Funastrum heterophyllum)

Biodiversity Outreach Coordinator

AmeriCorps position located in Phoenix, AZ

This position will develop and implement strategies to further the City's biodiversity/pollinator efforts within the community. The position will work with internal departments and community partners, and will develop opportunities with additional community groups to expand environmental knowledge and on-the-ground impact of the biodiversity program.

Click here to learn more

Research & Monitoring

The next meeting of the AMC Research and Monitoring group will be July 23^rd at 10 am. Email the committee chair if you would like to join and are not already on the email list. 

Chair: Kim Pegram, kpegram@dbg.org

Management Practices & Outreach

The next meeting is Monday, June 29^th. We will be discussing messaging during outreach events.

Chair: Jessi Miller, jessica_miller@fws.gov

Plant Materials & Restoration

Thanks to all who joined us in June! Our next meeting will be July 7^th at 10am. Reach out to Natalie with questions or to be added to the group.

Chair: Natalie Melkonoff, nmelkonoff@dbg.org

Interested in joining a working committee? Reach out to one of our committee chairs to learn more!

Antelope horns milkweed (Asclepias asperula)

Light pollution at night impacts monarch butterfly growth and performance

Gurholt, H. et. al. | Ecology | May 2026

Cattle foraging on milkweed: Intra-seasonal herbivory shifts and implications for monarch butterfly conservation

Johnson, E.R. et. al. | Ecopshere | June 2026

Assessing the legacy effects of COVID-19 lockdowns on insect pollinator biodiversity

Naeem, M. et. al. | Biological Conservation | 2026