The Monarch Gardener

The Monarch Gardener is available to bring an education program to your school (pre-K and up), festival, community group, garden club, camp, or scout group.

The conservation/gardening lecture "Sustaining the Monarch, one Yard at a Time," covers monarch biology, conservation and gardening for monarchs and pollinators. "A Native Transformation" lecture tells the story of transforming a typical suburban property with non-native foundation plantings into a haven for wildlife with over 80 species of native plants and multiple rain gardens. They are both appropriate for garden clubs, older students, and conservation groups.

"Katie, thanks so much for your wonderful presentation on the plight of the monarch butterfly. Our garden club members absolutely raved about it. Now we know how to use this knowledge to carefully select our plants for the garden. You presented a good combination of information on the butterflies and other pollinators, and plant information. It was very useful information that we can take to our gardens." -The Hamilton-Wenham Garden Club

Programs can include live plants and animals (seasonal), crafts, milkweed seed planting and seed ball making. Please contact themonarchgardener@gmail.com for more information.

"It has been great working with you over the past monarch season, Katie. Your knowledge, enthusiasm, punctuality, and professionalism make it a joy."

-Ranger Matt Poole US Fish and Wildlife Service

As a former Senior Aquarist and educator at the New England Aquarium, Katie Banks Hone (AKA The Monarch Gardener) cared for hundreds of different animals including endangered piping plovers, a Nile crocodile, jellyfish, Atlantic puffins and even an African pygmy hedgehog. She also created two-story rainforest waterfalls, Boston Harbor Island shorebird landscapes and brought marine biology-based programs to schools throughout New England.