Newton hospital is 'critical pit stop' for monarch butterflies

WICHITA, Kan. (KSNW) — NMC Health in Newton is working to help preserve the monarch butterfly.

The hospital system announced Monday that its Wildflower Garden Bee & Butterfly Refuge at its Healthy Lifestyle Campus is now an official Monarch Waystation. It has been certified and registered as Waystation #53595 by Monarch Watch, an volunteer organization that tracks the migration of the colorful, but endangered, pollinators.

Each year, monarch butterflies travel from southeast Canada and from across the United States to the mountain forests of central Mexico.

Land development and the use of pesticides has led to a dangerous decline in monarch populations in recent decades.

“Our Healthy Lifestyle Campus is here to support the well-being of our patients, staff, and the greater community,”