Francisco Gutiérrez
Verona Library 500 Silent St., Verona, Wisconsin 53593
press release: In August 2005, Mexican filmmaker and pilot Francisco Gutiérrez took off in his ultralight aircraft from Montreal to follow the monarch butterflies on their 6,000 km migration from Canada to the mountains of central Mexico. Photos from Gutierrez’s amazing journey are featured in the traveling exhibition On the Trail of the Monarch Butterfly, on view at the Verona Public Library from August 19 through September 29.
Gutiérrez undertook the flight in a bid to raise awareness of the importance of preserving the butterflies’ habitat. In collaboration with the Embassy of Mexico, the Canada Aviation and Space Museum produced the exhibition from the material recorded by Gutiérrez on his journey aboard the Papalotzin – the nickname of his ultralight aircraft, which means small butterfly in the Aztec language.
programs: Opening Reception Thursday, August 22, 6 – 6:30 p.m. followed by:
Dwindling Number for an Iconic Insect: A Conservation Biologist Ponders Moving Beyond the Documentation of Declines: Thursday, August 22, 6:30 – 8 p.m. Karen Oberhauser, Director of the UW-Madison Arboretum, will describe the amazing biology of migratory monarch populations, how citizens and scientists are documenting monarch numbers across their migratory cycle and what we can do to help preserve this charismatic insect for generations to come.