Our Mission

We at the Butterfly Sanctuary feel we need to educate the public not only about local butterflies and what they indicate about our environment, but about why Florida 's most precious resource is water.  Why is water part of the habitat needed by butterflies?  How does the water table play a part in the dry scrub areas, the swamplands and places where huge shell rock lies just below the surface of the ground?  Reading the landscape is more important in our state than most of us would have ever guessed, especially when it comes time to create a butterfly garden.  For those who are interested, we can help you attract butterflies, and can construct a custom program just for you or your group.

The little trail called the Butterfly Sanctuary was never more special than any other piece of natural land in SW Florida, but in this tiny microcosm of about 3 acres, we had seen endangered and threatened species like the Gopher Tortoise, Red Rat Snake, Red Cockaded and Pileated Woodpeckers, Southern Swallow tailed Kite (banded) tree snails, several species of now endangered Tillandsias (Bromeliads), several kinds of St John's Wort, Fox Squirrels and maybe a glimpse of a Miami Blue (although it could have been one of the other blues-they are all threatened.Once they reach a threatened list, unless someone makes a fuss, the next step is to be called Endangered.  Why let that happen?  While attempting to attract butterflies, why not notice all the other animals that begin to feel comfortable in your garden?

All of a sudden your garden is not just for butterflies anymore. This and many others were and are the reasons for our effort.  If this and much more is what our little piece had, what about all the other little pieces?

We feel that our precious state of Florida deserves all the attention possible, so that flora and fauna don't disappear before we even were aware of their existence!  Our mission is to help educate and teach anyone who wants to learn about how to attract, conserve, and enjoy the world of butterflies and the flowers and plants they use.

A Butterfly Haiku Poem
-author unknown

"butterfly boardwalk
winds through the saltwater marsh
muffled foot thunder."

Enjoy our web site, and come back often!