The Conservancy’s new Native Plant Propagation and Butterfly Learning Center

Dragonfly Farm is the Perkiomen Watershed Conservancy’s new satellite site located at Jacob Reiff Park in Lower Salford Township. Dragonfly Farm is the home of the Conservancy’s expanding Native Plant Project and our new Butterfly Learning Center. Dragonfly Farm features a native plant propagation greenhouse and will feature a butterfly learning center, a multitude of native plantings, butterfly gardens, as well as other habitat features that are enticing to pollinators and people alike. Explore all that Dragonfly Farm has to offer below.

 
 
 

Monarch Butterfly on Swamp Milkweed. Photo by Perkiomen Watershed Conservancy

Dragonfly Farm Details

The Conservancy’s Native Plant Project at Dragonfly Farm saw the installation of a greenhouse that allows the Conservancy’s volunteers to propagate thousands of Pennsylvania native plants at the site. The Conservancy is also beginning our butterfly restoration efforts by installing a second greenhouse that will serve as an educational space and center for our butterfly programs.

Variegated Fritillary on Black Eyed Susan. Photo by Ria Smith

Our goals at Dragonfly Farm extend well beyond the walls of the greenhouses. It is our vision to grow Dragonfly Farm into a sustainable pollinator and butterfly oasis that showcases a variety of planting projects and best management practices.

Focus Butterfly Species:

Butterfly gardens that benefit particular butterfly species will be planted at Dragonfly Farm. The following species will focused on during the installation of butterfly gardens at the site: the Monarch Butterfly, Zebra Swallowtail, Black Swallowtail, Spicebush Swallowtail, Hummingbird Clearwing Moth, Pearl Crescent, and Variegated Fritillary.

Pearl Crescent on Dogbane. Photo by Perkiomen Watershed Conservancy

Completed Projects:

  • Rain gardens (Spring & Summer 2023)

  • Monarch Butterfly Garden (Fall 2023)

  • Zebra Swallowtail Garden & Multifunctional Buffer (Fall 2023)

  • Spicebush Swallowtail Garden (Fall 2023)

  • Pearl Crescent Butterfly Garden (Fall 2023)

  • Variegated Fritillary Butterfly Garden (Fall 2023)

  • Bird Habitat Berm (Fall 2023)

Black Swallowtail on Wild Bergamot. Photo by Perkiomen Watershed Conservancy

Planned projects taking place over the next several years include:

  • Black Swallowtail Butterfly Garden

  • Hummingbird Clearwing Moth Garden

  • Milkweed Meadow

  • Pollinator Meadow

  • Insect Hotel and Hibernation Station

  • Pizza Herb Garden

  • Livestake Stock Garden

  • Compost Demonstration Area

  • And Much More!!

Peck’s Skipper on Swamp Milkweed. Photo by Perkiomen Watershed Conservancy

Eastern tailed-blue puddling. Photo by Perkiomen Watershed Conservancy

Purpose & Mission

  • Expand the Conservancy’s Native Plant Project at Dragonfly Farm and continue to educate the community about the importance of native plants in ecosystem health and stormwater management.

  • Demonstrate the crucial role that native plants play in supporting local butterflies.

  • Create diverse native habitats that promote butterflies and that can be replicated in residential, commercial, and public landscapes.

  • Create a space and accompanied programming in which the community can learn about and interact with native plants and butterflies.

  • Grow Dragonfly Farm into a showpiece of best management practices and sustainable design. Utilize best management practices and sustainable design to support native plantings and butterflies while addressing other environmental concerns like stormwater runoff and invasive plant species.

  • Conduct citizen science butterfly surveys at Jacob Reiff Park and other Conservancy native planting projects to collect baseline data about the watershed’s butterfly populations.

Butterfly Surveys & Data

Beginning in late Summer 2022, Conservancy staff and volunteers began conducting Butterfly Surveys at Jacob Reiff Park. Staff conduct weekly surveys hosted from the beginning of May to the end of September. During the 2023 season, staff and volunteers hosted 26 surveys during which they observed 1,380 individual butterflies and moths from 48 different species.

In 2023, the Conservancy expanded Butterfly Survey volunteer opportunities to additional parks and open space areas where we have previously installed conservation projects. In addition to conducting Butterfly Surveys at Jacob Reiff Park, volunteers may also conduct surveys in the following locations:

Butterfly Survey Volunteer Training Session, Summer 2023

Volunteers interested in getting involved in Butterfly Surveys should reach out to our Director of Ecology, Beth Myers.

Thank you to Our Dragonfly Farm Partners & Donors

 

Thank you to Ria Smith and Fred Redekop for making Dragonfly Farm possible!