Cozumel Foundation Promotes Monarch Butterfly Protection and Native Plants to Boost Biodiversity

Cozumel, Quintana Roo — The Cozumel Parks and Museums Foundation (FPMC) is promoting environmental education to protect the monarch butterfly and encourage the use of native plants to boost the island’s biodiversity, following recent documentation of the species’ life cycle in the area.

The foundation organized a hands-on workshop titled “SOS Pollinators: Design Your Own Pollinator Garden” to raise environmental awareness among children and strengthen conservation efforts. The event took place at Cozumel Flower Child, where children aged 7 to 12 participated in educational activities to understand the importance of pollinators—such as bees, butterflies, and birds—in ecosystem balance and learned how to create green spaces that serve as refuges for these species.

Rafael Chacón Díaz, director of Conservation and Environmental Education (CEA), explained that pollinator gardens help restore urban biological corridors by integrating suitable plants in homes, parks, and schools, creating habitats that support the survival of diverse species.

During the workshop, participants observed various stages of the monarch butterfly’s life cycle up close, including caterpillars, chrysalises, and adult specimens present in the area. This experience highlighted the importance of residents being able to identify each developmental phase to protect the insects if found in gardens or public spaces.

The FPMC encourages the public to care for these natural stages and promote the planting of host plants, such as milkweed (Asclepias curassavica), which is essential for the monarch’s feeding and reproduction. The species faces multiple threats and is at risk.

FPMC General Director Juanita Alonso Marrufo noted that these actions are part of a comprehensive strategy to strengthen environmental culture in Cozumel, aligned with the New Agreement for Well-being and Development of Quintana Roo led by Governor Mara Lezama Espinosa.

She emphasized that by learning about and protecting emblematic species like the monarch butterfly, children become advocates for environmental care, understanding that planting native plants not only beautifies spaces but also directly contributes to preserving biodiversity and the island’s natural future.