Former Knoxville teacher and active community member Curt Froyen has found a passion for raising monarch butterflies.

Froyen has created his own monarch habitat on his property south of Knoxville, where the butterflies mate and then live until it is time for him to release them into the wild. Froyen says he used to do activities with monarchs when he was a teacher, but he fell out of it after he first retired. Froyen says he then got connected with an organization called the Monarch Research Project out of Marion, IA, where he became interested in raising them himself. KNIA/KRLS visited Froyen’s monarch habitat and he said he wants to encourage others to establish a habitat that the butterflies need. 

“About three years ago I really began earnestly trying to raise the monarchs. Not only raising the butterflies themselves but trying to encourage others to establish the type of habitat that they need. A monarch caterpillar will only feed on milkweed but the adults need nectar. They need nectar plants. It’s not just enough to plant a couple milkweed plants, but you need something for the whole life cycle.”

On Thursday, Froyen also worked with a second grade class in Knoxville as they released Monarch butterflies they have been raising. Froyen says he wants to help anyone he can get started with raising them. Hear more from Froyen on today’s Let’s Talk Knoxville.