A girl, some milkweed, serendipity and butterflies

PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — For Roxy Crunchie and her friend Adele, there was serendipity in what they saw.

“We found a monarch (butterfly) laying eggs and found monarch eggs,” Roxy said. “That’s what these guys turned into.”

The 10-year-olds went through hard work to help bring the eye-catching beautiful wingspanned butterflies back to their native land.

The Western Monarch Butterfly is increasingly rare throughout Oregon. Its population has dropped by half and many haven’t been seen north of Corvallis.

For Roxy, the effort to help the monarchs began with creating a habitat. That means a lot of milkweed.

“Planting milkweed and other wildflowers that monarchs like, like butterfly bush, we just hope that others will help us do this to help bring pollinators back,” she told KOIN 6 News.

She and her friends helped feed and raise them. Monday, they tagged the monarchs to help track them as they set them free.

Tagging the butterflies helps track them to determine the pathways they use when they migrate, the influence of weather on their migration and the survival rate.

Roxy seems to have found something she could do her whole life.

“I plan on doing it even when I grow up. Maybe have a website or sell milkweed or give it away,” she said. “I really hope I can do more later in life.”