Balcony Garden Project

#balcony #greeninfrastructure #pollinators

About the Project

The Balcony Garden project is a participatory science project exploring the potential of balconies as green space for urban biodiversity conservation. For the pilot study in 2024, we are exploring the capacity of balcony gardens to support Monarch butterflies. Therefore, we are recruiting balconies from boroughs with currently high Monarch butterfly observations in Hochelaga-Maisonneuve, Rosemont-La Petite-Patrie, Le Sud-Ouest, Verdun, and Lachine. Interested balcony-owners can submit information about their balcony to see if their balcony meets the conditions for the experiment.
We will also be recruiting participants to help us test the growth of native or naturalized plant species that are also pollinator-friendly, to better understand what other pollinator plants can be grown on balconies.

What do participants have to do?

Participants with balconies in Hochelaga-Maisonneuve, Rosemont-La Petite-Patrie, Le Sud-Ouest, Verdun, and Lachine will be selected, to help establish gardens on their balconies to attract Monarch butterflies and other pollinators. The pilot study will run from May to October 2024.

Selected participants will

be provided with a variety of plants and instructions on how to care for them
care for the plants and observe monarchs and other pollinators that visit the balcony garden throughout the summer
report results to researchers regularly through google forms

Plants are grown locally by Jardin Buzz

Why green balconies?

Urban nature is increasingly recognised for its benefits for physical and mental health of city residents. However, the built environment poses many challenges for biodiversity, particularly sensitive species like Monarchs such as insufficient resources and habitat, pollution affecting habitat quality, and barriers that limit movement across urban landscapes.

Studies have already found that small green spaces in cities such as backyards can be important for supporting urban biodiversity by creating a combined network of backyards and small green patches. Balconies are common privately-owned spaces in cities, where residents can take urban greening and biodiversity conservation into their own hands, yet little is known about their capacity to support biodiversity and provide connectivity. We would therefore like to explore if a combined effort of green balconies can benefit biodiversity, whilst also increasing access to urban nature.

Why Monarchs?

Monarch butterflies are famous for their 4800 kilometer-long migration routes. A study in Western United states has found that despite the decreasing trend in wild Monarch populations, resident urban Monarch populations are increasing. This suggests urban environments are critically important for Monarch conservation.

Successful greening projects to support biodiversity need to be targeted for specific species, with good knowledge of the species’ ecology. In the “Balconies for Butterflies” project for summer 2024, we hope to use Monarchs as a target species by attracting them to balconies using milkweed and other popular nectar plants. As they are a popular species and have been highly studied to understand their biology and behavior, we hope to build upon this knowledge and apply it to using balconies to support them. By uncovering the requirements for Monarch butterflies to lay their

Monarch Migration Route Map, US National Parks Service

eggs on balconies, we can learn about conservation opportunities for urban Monarch populations. Other pollinators may also be attracted to plants that Monarchs use, so we would like to find how to most effectively use small balcony spaces to increase resources for urban pollinators.

Why Monarchs?

Sign-up and volunteer your balcony here!

Let us know your Monarch caterpillar anecdotes here!