Kylynn Kelsey, who is 6 years old, said she started liking butterflies on Saturday following the annual monarch butterfly release at the LeFevre Butterfly Garden behind the Greensburg Garden & Civic Center. Her favorite part was getting them to land on her wand made of flowers, which were available at the event hosted by Greensburg Garden Center. She said watching the butterflies be released was “fun.
” Carla Rusnica and Diane Dale, co-presidents of the Greensburg Garden Center, said about 600 total people attended the two butterfly releases Saturday in the garden. “We didn’t even advertise this year because we’re so well-known,” Rusnica said. In January and February, the garden center ordered 200 monarch butterflies, which people can reserve ahead of the release, she said.
“People call in right away,” Rusnica said. “The butterflies come in little envelopes — their wings are all folded up.” The flower wands, which Dale said she helped make ahead of the event, attract the butterflies when they wake up, as there’s nectar in the flowers for when they’re hungry.
Kylynn, of Greensburg, has never held so many butterflies before, according to her mom, Katie Kelsey, even though she’s been to two butterfly releases before this one. Her mother, Katie Kelsey, said the family gravitates toward anything nature-oriented or other outdoor activities, as they’re self-proclaimed “big nature people.” “She’s still captivated by it,” she said of her daughter.