The Conservancy’s new Native Plant Propagation and Butterfly Learning Center

Dragonfly Farm is the Perkiomen Watershed Conservancy’s new satellite site located at Jacob Reiff Park in Lower Salford Township. Dragonfly Farm is the home of the Conservancy’s expanding Native Plant Project and our new Butterfly Learning Center. Dragonfly Farm features a native plant propagation greenhouse and will feature a butterfly learning center, a multitude of native plantings, butterfly gardens, as well as other habitat features that are enticing to pollinators and people alike. Explore all that Dragonfly Farm has to offer below.

 

Monarch Butterfly on Swamp Milkweed.

Dragonfly Farm Details

The Conservancy’s Native Plant Project at Dragonfly Farm saw the installation of a greenhouse that allows the Conservancy’s volunteers to propagate thousands of Pennsylvania native plants at the site. The Conservancy is also beginning our butterfly restoration efforts by installing a second greenhouse that will serve as an educational space and center for our butterfly programs.

Variegated Fritillary on Purple Coneflower.

Our goals at Dragonfly Farm extend well beyond the walls of the greenhouses. It is our vision to grow Dragonfly Farm into a sustainable pollinator and butterfly oasis that showcases a variety of planting projects and best management practices.

Focus Butterfly Species:

Butterfly gardens that benefit particular butterfly species will be planted at Dragonfly Farm. The following species will focused on during the installation of butterfly gardens at the site: the Monarch Butterfly, Zebra Swallowtail, Black Swallowtail, Spicebush Swallowtail, Hummingbird Clearwing Moth, Pearl Crescent, and Variegated Fritillary.

Pearl Crescent.

Completed Projects:

  • Rain gardens (Spring & Summer 2023)

  • Monarch Butterfly Garden (Fall 2023)

  • Zebra Swallowtail Garden & Multifunctional Buffer (Fall 2023)

  • Spicebush Swallowtail Garden (Fall 2023)

  • Pearl Crescent Butterfly Garden (Fall 2023)

  • Variegated Fritillary Butterfly Garden (Fall 2023)

  • Bird Habitat Berm (Fall 2023)

  • Black Swallowtail Butterfly Garden (Spring 2024)

  • Pizza Herb Garden (Spring 2024)

  • Pollinator Meadow (Fall 2024)

Spicebush Swallowtail on Wild Bergamot.

Planned projects taking place over the next several years include:

  • Hummingbird Clearwing Moth Garden

  • Milkweed Meadow

  • Insect Hotel and Hibernation Station

  • Livestake Stock Garden

  • Compost Demonstration Area

  • And Much More!!

Black Swallowtail on Wild Bergamot.

Hummingbird Clearwing Moth on Wild Bergamot.

Purpose & Mission

  • Expand the Conservancy’s Native Plant Project at Dragonfly Farm and continue to educate the community about the importance of native plants in ecosystem health and stormwater management.

  • Demonstrate the crucial role that native plants play in supporting local butterflies.

  • Create diverse native habitats that promote butterflies and that can be replicated in residential, commercial, and public landscapes.

  • Create a space and accompanied programming in which the community can learn about and interact with native plants and butterflies.

  • Grow Dragonfly Farm into a showpiece of best management practices and sustainable design. Utilize best management practices and sustainable design to support native plantings and butterflies while addressing other environmental concerns like stormwater runoff and invasive plant species.

  • Conduct citizen science butterfly surveys at Dragonfly Farm and other Conservancy native planting projects to collect data about the watershed’s butterfly populations.

Butterfly Surveys & Data

 

Beginning in late Summer 2022, Conservancy staff and volunteers began conducting Butterfly Surveys at Dragonfly Farm at Jacob Reiff Park. Conservancy staff now conducts weekly surveys hosted from the beginning of May to October. During the 2024 season, staff and volunteers hosted 24 surveys during which they observed 1,729 individual butterflies and moths from 50 different species.

In 2023, the Conservancy expanded Butterfly Survey volunteer opportunities to additional parks and open space areas where we have previously installed conservation projects. In addition to conducting Butterfly Surveys at Jacob Reiff Park, volunteers may also conduct surveys in the following locations:

Butterfly Survey Volunteer Training Session at Dragonfly Farm, 2023

Thank you to Our Dragonfly Farm Partners & Donors

 

Thank you to Ria Smith and Fred Redekop for making Dragonfly Farm possible!