Cemex plants pollinator gardens for migrating monarch butterflies

This is the time of year when monarch butterflies make their migration to Mexico for the winter. With the number of monarchs on the decline, Cemex is doing what it can to help save the butterfly by providing habitats where they can feed and rest during their migration.

Cemex has partnered with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Wildlife Habitat Council’s (WHC) Monarch Partnership by planting pollinator gardens and promoting educational initiatives on its properties. Seventeen sites – cement plants, aggregate quarries, ready-mix plants and regional offices – located along the migration path are participating in the Southeast Monarch Initiative in 2016 and/or 2017 to help restore the monarch population by planting milkweeds, native prairie-seed mixes, wildflowers and other plants beneficial to pollinators in designated onsite habitats and gardens.

“At our Louisville Cement Plant, for example, our team planted a Southern Monarch Habitat Seed Mix on about an acre of designated habitat land to provide food sources for the monarch butterfly and increase other plant and wildlife populations,” Cemex USA Vice President, Environmental Affairs, Satish Sheth says in a press release.

“WHC encourages teams working on voluntary conservation initiatives to seek out alignments that are meaningful to them,” says WHC President Margaret O’Gorman in the press release. “In choosing to support the monarch butterfly, Cemex not only contributes to the President’s Pollinator Health Task Force, but also demonstrates that the private sector has the means and influence to create a conservation impact, to leverage resources to restore ecosystems and enhance biodiversity.”

At the company’s Ready Mix USA facilities, not only have they planted pollinator-friendly vegetation, but they have also focused on awareness and collaboration, with more than 25 employees participating in the efforts to plant milkweed and bring the monarch butterfly back.

“From small gardens at our regional offices to larger efforts at our cement plants, our team members are dedicated to good land stewardship and proud to be a part of the Monarch Habitat Initiative,” says Cemex USA President Ignacio Madridejos in the press release.

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EDITOR’S NOTE: Kerry Clines writes for Aggregates Manager, a sister publication.