Wayzata needs weeds, maven of the monarchs says

It takes a brave soul to propose bringing weeds to Wayzata, that garden paradise to the west. Sherry Machen is that brave soul.

But it's not just any weed she champions. It's milkweed. Machen thinks milkweed gets a bad rap. Sure, it spreads quickly, and yes, it can be toxic. But many of its 100-plus North American varieties are quite beautiful, and they are toxic only if an animal consumes huge quantities.

Far more essential to Machen: Milkweed is the only plant on which the state butterfly -- the monarch -- will lay its tiny eggs. That brings us back to her big, wild vision for her lusciously landscaped city. She wants to make Wayzata the state's monarch butterfly capital. She wants libraries, businesses, medical clinics, churches, schools, homeowners and businesses to join her. She plans to do this despite having no official organization, no president, no website and no money.

The last part isn't entirely true. Machen (rhymes with "passion") has recruited enthusiastic volunteers, including Wayzata businessman John Beard, a vice president at Morgan Stanley, who has twisted arms to the tune of $600 to create fliers. Miki Banavige, former Wayzata Chamber of Commerce executive director, also has signed on. Banavige loves monarch butterflies so much that she followed their annual migration to Mexico and wrote a book about it. Other volunteers have designed Machen's "The Butterfly Effect" logo and offered plant advice.

All this for butterflies?

"Minnesota needs butterflies," said Machen, a psychologist in private practice. "They're a symbol of transformation, resilience. They struggle so much to get out of their chrysalis to become a beautiful butterfly. It's a good metaphor for the rest of us."

Metaphors aside, their shrinking numbers should alarm us from an ecological standpoint. The University of Kansas Monarch Waystation Program (www.monarchwatch.org) reports that herbicides widely used in croplands and pastures are serious threats to monarch habitats. In addition, new subdivisions and shopping centers devour 6,000 acres a day of habitat for monarchs and other wildlife.

Machen, 67, grew up as an Army brat and is the mother of two grown children. She has raised butterflies for 40 years, observing their approximately 18-day transformation from egg to caterpillar to gold-dotted chrysalis to butterfly.

About four generations of monarchs are born in Minnesota each summer, she said, living roughly four weeks. The exception is the last generation of the season, which migrates to Mexico and survives about six months. But Machen is seeing far fewer monarchs these days. She knows why.

"I used to find milkweed everywhere," she said.

Two years ago, she contacted then-Parks Superintendent Sonny Clark to explore establishing way stations in Wayzata. He liked the idea, but had no money for it. In fact, as the city faced serious budget cuts, Clark took early retirement, and residents took it upon themselves to tend to about a dozen public gardens over the summer months.

Now Machen's own grass-roots group is growing. Volunteers at the Friends of Wayzata Library have funded two way stations on library grounds. At the library's annual picnic Wednesday, Machen and Banavige set up a table to educate and recruit more volunteers.

"One thing we do in all of our courses is teach that gardens and yards are a perfect conservation tool that is completely under-utilized," Oberhauser said. "We need to plan ways that the land we're on can support other organisms."

Machen, who can be reached at mache005@umn.edu, said she would love to see more people involved.

"The more of these gardens we create, the more of a difference can be made."