Monarch butterflies are in trouble, and we’re doing something about it

To help protect the monarch butterfly, which was recently declared endangered, Sanford Burnham Prebys is planting milkweed on campus. Planting milkweed and other butterfly-friendly flowers along monarch migration routes is a key strategy to support this iconic California species and prevent further decline. 

“In the ’80s, we all took the butterflies for granted,” said Eva Engvall, PhD professor emerita at Sanford Burnham Prebys. Professor Engvall’s comments on the decline of the monarch were immortalized several years ago in a printed mural on campus. “Thirty years later, we never see them.”

The International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) recently added the monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus) to its list of endangered species. The distinctive orange-and-black butterflies are a staple of Californian wildlife, but their numbers have drastically declined over the last 30 years.

Although monarchs are known for their heroic migration to Mexico and back each year, those that live west of the Rocky Mountains need not travel so far—many of their overwintering sites are located right here in California, with others scattered throughout West Coast states.

In the 1980s, when Sanford Burnham Prebys was known as the La Jolla Cancer Research Foundation, some of these resting sites could be found on our campus. Today, this is no longer the case. 

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Habitat destruction from agriculture and urban development, along with declining milkweed populations caused by drought and fire, have decimated the butterfly population. The IUCN estimates that the population of West Coast monarch butterflies has fallen by an estimated 99.9% between the 1980s and 2021.

“For some time, I thought they didn’t come to La Jolla because the area had been so developed,” said Engvall. “But this is apparently not the cause of the reduction in the number of butterflies, but rather the lack of the plant milkweed, which the larvae need to feed on.”

To combat this problem, the Institute has planted several milkweed plants along our on-campus walkways. Milkweed plants provide shelter and a place to lay eggs for adult butterflies, and they are the only plants that monarch caterpillars eat. Dozens of monarchs have already been spotted on the milkweed just outside Building 1. 

“They eat so fast that we may need to plant more at this rate,” says facilities director John Reed, who planted the milkweed last week. 

The milkweed planting is the latest in a series of steps the Institute has taken to help protect the environment and promote sustainability. Sanford Burnham Prebys has been recognized as a trailblazer in water conservation for its innovative water-saving landscaping, and the Institute also recently completed a sweeping round of solar energy upgrades.

“It’s great that our Institute is able to do our part to protect the environment, including these beautiful monarch butterflies,” adds Reed.

Campus just got a lot more productive.

Sanford Burnham Prebys recently completed a sweeping round of solar energy upgrades, including the installation of 1,690 solar panels, and 50 car charging stations, which are now available for employee use. These upgrades, which also include the implementation of new power storage infrastructure, are the latest in a series of major sustainability projects spearheaded by Sanford Burnham Prebys over the last two decades.  

“Energy is one of the most important resources we have, and a critical part of supporting the Institute’s biomedical research is making sure our facilities can use and maintain that resource sustainably,” says John Reed, director of facilities at Sanford Burnham Prebys. “If we can benefit employees in the process by giving them access to electric car charging and saving them some gas money, that’s just a bonus.” 

The upgrades will save a significant amount of energy for the Institute and could reduce yearly carbon emissions by as much as 696 metric tons. According to the EPA’s Greenhouse Gas Equivalencies Calculator, this is as much as the yearly emissions of 83 average homes.

“This is a major shift in the way our Institute consumes energy,” adds Reed.

The new solar panels cover the roofs of Building 5, 6, and 7, as well as the parking structure, known informally to employees as Building 8. 

“It’s a bit of a joke that Building 8 is the least productive place on campus since it’s always just been a parking structure,” says Reed. “But with these upgrades, we won’t be able to say that anymore.”

This is not the first time Sanford Burnham Prebys has shown itself to be a leader in sustainability. In 2015, Sanford Burnham Prebys was recognized as a national trailblazer in water conservation after a decade-long initiative to reduce waste by using recycled water for irrigation and cooling, as well as repurposing  wastewater from water purification systems. The Institute also replaced its tropical plants with drought-resistant landscaping in 2007.

Employees interested in using the car charging ports for their electric vehicle will need to download the PowerFlex app on their mobile device, create an account with their institutional email address and provide some information about the vehicle. See powerflex.com for more information.

If you live in California—especially Southern California—you know that water is scarce. So scarce that the governor is ordering a statewide, across-the-board 25 percent cut in water use. Although the targets for water reduction in commercial, institutional, and industrial settings haven’t been established, the life-science research industry is finding ways to face the water shortage. Perhaps they can take some pointers from Sanford-Burnham—recently recognized as a leader in conservation efforts. Continue reading “Sanford-Burnham recognized as a trailblazer in water conservation”