MEETINGS & BUTTERFLY WALKS

MEETINGS, BUTTERFLY WALKS & SPECIAL EVENTS

***Please note that we alternate Meetings and Butterfly Walks.***

2025-2026 Butterfly Walks and Chapter Meetings

Atala Chapter Meetings

Meetings are free and open to the public.

Mounts Building Auditorium at Mounts Botanical Garden

531 N. Military Trail, West Palm Beach, Fl 33415

https://www.mounts.org

Mounts Auditorium is at the front of the Garden at the Military Trail entrance.

Directions to Mounts Botanical Garden. Exit 1-95 at Belvedere Road. Go west about 3 miles to Military Trail. Take left (south) and go 0.5 mile to Mounts Building at main Military Trail entrance on right (west).

For more information contact Teri Jabour nabapalmbeach@gmail.com

Please note we alternate Meetings and Butterfly Walks. Check the schedule for dates.

All meetings are free and open to the public. No registration required unless otherwise noted.

Saturday, November 15, 2025, 1:00 PM – 3:00 PM – Mounts Building Auditorium

The Program: Taking Care of Your Butterfly Garden by Jeff Nurge.

Jeff will give tips on how to take care of the butterfly plants in your garden. South Florida has a year-long growing season and that means year-long taking care of the plants—host plants for the caterpillars and nectar plants for the adults. Jeff is the owner of Native Choice Nursery and a long-time Palm Beach County resident with many years of experience creating native plant and butterfly gardens. Jeff is a graduate of the UF/IFAS Extension Master Gardener program. He currently serves on the Board of Directors for the Palm Beach County Chapter of the Florida Native Plant Society. Jeff is always a popular speaker for the Atala Chapter and enjoys sharing his knowledge about plants and butterflies!

Saturday, January 24, 2026, 1:00 PM – 3:00 PM - Mounts Building Auditorium

The Program: Palm Beach County Natural Areas by Kim Rigano

Today, Palm Beach County’s Environmental Resource Management Department (PBC ERM) manages more than 31,000 acres of conservation lands across 38 different sites both for public enjoyment as well as for the plants and wildlife that call these areas home. The presentation will go over the different natural areas and habitats that PBC ERM manages. It will also cover the various management techniques that staff use to promote healthy ecosystems. She will discuss monitoring data that is collected from these sites by ERM staff and through partnerships like that between the County and NABA’s Atala Chapter, which supports annual butterfly surveys at Natural Areas throughout the county. This presentation should increase your understanding of the County’s Natural Areas and all that these sites have to offer, not only for the public but also for the butterflies and all the species that rely on these habitats. Kim has been with Palm Beach County’s Environmental Resource Management Department (ERM) approximately 2 years. She is currently the site manager for Frenchman’s Forest, Hypoluxo Scrub and Delaware Scrub Natural Areas and participates in Atala Chapter butterfly counts.

Saturday, March 14, 2026, 1:00 PM – 3:00 PM - Mounts Building Auditorium

The Program: Finding Butterflies at Jonathan Dickinson State Park by Sue Alspach.

Using lots of photographs, Sue will be discussing what butterflies can be found at the park, where to find them, and what flowers or plants they frequent. Sue worked for 29 years in government service in pollution control, Everglades restoration planning, plant inspection, and invasive species eradication. She recently retired from the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services and happily divides her time between tending her yard in Davie and exploring South Florida’s wildlands. Sue is often seen on NABA's butterfly counts and leading wildflower tours.

Saturday, May 2, 2026, 1:00 PM-3:00 PM - Mounts Auditorium

The Program: On Your Marks! Get Ready for 2026 Butterfly Counts by Alana Edwards and Teri Jabour.

Learn about the butterflies we see in Palm Beach County on our local butterfly counts! The North American Butterfly Association (NABA) annual 4th of July Butterfly Count is an important project to collect data about local butterfly species. The Atala Chapter has conducted these butterfly counts for 31 years! Chapter members will share their tips on how to identify local butterflies we see in natural areas and in our yards. Being able to recognize the most common—and uncommon—butterflies will increase your enjoyment of butterfly watching as well as be an important part of this annual butterfly monitoring project.

Butterfly Hike

Saturday, October 4, 2025

10:00 a.m. -12:00 p.m.

Delray Oaks Natural Area

2021SW 29th Street, Delray Beach, Fl 33445

This butterfly hike is an Adopt A Natural Area program in partnership with Palm Beach County Department of Environmental Resources Management (ERM). Delray Oaks is 25 acres of rare xeric hammock. It is dominated by shady hardwood forests of live oak, laurel oak, cabbage palm, and strangler fig. Wild coffee, American beautyberry, golden rod, partridge pea, and tarflower attract butterflies and migratory birds. Ruddy Daggerwing butterflies are commonly seen flying around strangler fig. Gulf Fritillary, Zebra Heliconian, White Peacock, Giant Swallowtail, Great Southern White and several species of Sulphurs are just some of the butterflies that have been seen there. The paved Live Oak trail is 0.29 miles and handicap accessible. The Beautyberry Trail, 0.20 miles, is sandy but a maintained trail. For more information about Delray Oaks Natural Area, see Environmental Resources Management - Delray-Oaks.

Free and open to the public but space limited. Register with PBC ERM (Registration opens September 20) at:

Adventure Awaits - Butterfly Hike @ Delray Oaks Registration, Sat, Oct 4, 2025 at 10:00 AM | Eventbrite

Or, email nabapalmbeach@gmail.com to register.

Wear walking shoes, bring hat, bug spray, sunscreen and drinking water.

Please note, there are no public facilities or drinking water.

Butterfly Hike

Saturday, April 11, 2026, 10 AM-12 PM

Jupiter Ridge Natural Area

1800 South U.S. Highway 1, Jupiter, FL 33477

This butterfly hike is an Adopt A Natural Area program in partnership with Palm Beach County Environmental Resources Management (ERM). Jupiter Ridge is 270 acres of diverse ecosystems—scrub, scrubby flatwood, mesic flatwoods, depression marsh, and mangrove swamp ecosystems. The shoreline provides a walk along the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway. The natural area is part of the Great Bird and Wildlife Trail and designated site of Florida Greenways and Trails System. There are about 2.5 miles of trails. The Little Blue Heron Trail is paved 0.2 miles. The other trails are sandy but easy walking. Ruddy Daggerwing, Statira Sulphur, Gulf Fritillary, Horace’s Duskywing and Great Southern White butterflies are seen. Zebra Swallowtail may be spotted!

See Environmental Resources Management/Jupiter-Ridge at https://discover.pbcgov.org/erm/pages/natura-areas.aspx

Free but space limited. Register with PBC ERM at *Eventbrite

(*Registration available 2 weeks before Butterfly Hike)

Or email nabapalmbeach@gmail.com to register.

Wear walking shoes, bring hat, bug spray, sunscreen and drinking water.

Please note, there are no public facilities or drinking water.

Green Cay Wildlife Celebration

Saturday, December 6, 2025, 9.m. - 3 p.m.

Green Cay Wetlands

12800 Hagen Ranch Road, Boynton Beach, FL 33437

Natural Areas Festival

Saturday, January 31, 2026, 1:00 to 6:00 PM