Monarch Release 2026
1:00 PM - 2:00 PM Sunday, August 23, 2026
Location:
Walter J. Sullivan Water Treatment Facility
250 Fresh Pond Pkwy.
Cambridge
Neighborhood:
City Wide
Contact:
Amanda Garms, agarms@cambridgema.gov, 617-349-4770
Water Treatment Plant & Kingsley Park Bowl
See the butterflies up close, learn about their migration, complete an activity booklet for a Jr. Ranger badge, get your face painted, see storyteller Yumi Izuyama, do some caterpillar and butterfly related crafts outside the Water Treatment Plant along the perimeter road. At 1:45pm, we will walk over to the Kingsley Bowl Meadow to witness the release! See what the flutter’s been about since this program began in 2014.
Migratory monarchs have faced significant threats since the 1990's. The chief factors of their decline are loss of milkweed, logging activity in Mexico, extensive pesticide use in the US, and extreme weather events. Because Monarchs migrate, we need a national effort. As an official “waystation” Fresh Pond is a wonderful place for adult monarchs and their young to grow up!