15 Ways to Celebrate Butterflies, Get Your Craft On

Make a plan to head outside on March 14 to get crafty, celebrate butterflies and show off your pollinator love because it’s National Learn About Butterflies Day and National Children’s Craft Day. 

North Carolina Wildlife Federation’s online library of wildlife and habitat videos and webinars offers creative ways for kids and adults to explore nature through craft projects and build safe havens for important pollinator species such as butterflies, birds and bees.

Here are eight Great Outdoors University videos to check out:

1. Learn how to make a butterfly puddler so butterflies can visit not only your flowers but also get a drink and some minerals they need to stay healthy. Be sure to keep your puddler moist. Enjoy watching your pollinator friends!
2. Plan ahead for Mother’s Day by making a creative and fun gift for mom to show your love and thank her for all she does.
3. Become a bird nest architect by using natural materials found in nature. For inspiration, take a walk outside and check other nests in bushes, high in the trees and even on the ground.
4. Create a critter playground and then watch how they move and interact with each other.  
5. Set sail with snails (aka pennies) by creating a boat that will float and hold as many as possible.
6. Learn to tell the time of day with the help of the sun by making a sundial using materials found in your yard or on a walk close to home.
7. Step out of the kitchen and into the great outdoors to get cooking with a DIY solar oven.  
8. Check out a fun camouflage activity you can do inside, then head outside to find some living camouflaged animals such as lizards, birds and insects.

And seven ways to keep the butterfly and craft vibes fluttering:

1. Register for our Spring Saunter at the Highlands Botanical Garden on April 9.
2. Head to Williamson Preserve for Kids in Nature Day on May 14.
3. Enjoy family-friendly Earth Day activities at Squirrel Lake Park on April 23. 
4. Discover Where the Wildflowers Grow with a Native Butterfly Walk at Pilot Mountain on Aug. 20.
5. Become a Butterfly Highway Ambassador. 
6. Go native by gardening for wildlife or purchasing a native seed mix.
7. Sign up for the Butterfly Highway Newsletter.