Meeting Date: Oct. 25, 2021
President Jeff opened the meeting at 6:30 pm. After the national anthem, grace, and dinner, plus thanking the ACW for the dinner, Jeff started the meeting.
Program:
1. Jeff: DG Ken Corlett presented a new Ridgetown Club banner. A photo of Jeff and ken was taken, as well as a group photo. See below.
- Ken wants us all to get registered on the D6380 webpage and then on the Rotary International one. He told us about several of the benefits of doing so.
- The combined D6380 and D6400 Foundation gala is taking place virtually in November. He listed the many things the Foundation does for us.
- Jeff got a certificate of completion for his President’s Training.
- He gave Jeff 10 D6380 lapel pins. The District is cutting costs so we don’t all get one.
2. Jeff: Jeff introduced Guest Speaker Joan Cofell who will speak on “Tagging Monarch Butterflies”.
· Joan used PowerPoint to show us her work with the butterflies.
· Joan got involved through her grandson and a friend, Dale Wurker, who has tagged 3800 monarchs over the years.
· In 2019, Joan and her grandson tagged 180: in 2020 by herself 463 and this year, 965 of 1465 tagged by volunteers from Rondeau Provincial Park and U of G. She catches them in a net and then tags them in the field or transfers them to a butterfly cage until she can tag them.
· The peak migration occurs around Sept. 15, from the north.
· In and around Ridgetown, there are 3 generations of monarchs each summer, each lasting 2-3 weeks. Their sole purpose is to lay eggs.
- The next generation lives for 8-9 months. They migrate to Mexico to overwinter and then head back in the spring. After laying their eggs this generation dies.
· They lay their eggs on milkweed plants, whose numbers are declining. The monarch caterpillars eat the milkweed which is toxic to other species, especially birds.
· Joan tagged all her Monarchs in red clover fields and noticed that there were more monarchs close to wind turbines. .
· They don’t fly below 550F, at night or in rainy weather. They roost in trees at night.
· The sun must be at an inclination of at least 520 before they will start to migrate.
· Friends of Rondeau at the Rondeau Park Visitor Centre purchased 1500 tags to be used by volunteers to tag the monarchs. The tags are very small and contain an ID number so they can be traced.
· Joan had to keep track of the weather, location, sex, food source, and each tag # as she did her tagging.
· Mexican residents go to the monarch sanctuaries to recover the tags. They get $5 US per tag number they collect, which for some is equivalent to a day’s wage.
· Nov. 1-2, Mexicans celebrate the Day of the Dead. They believe the spirits of those passed return to the monarchs.
· Some monarch predators are cats, ants, spiders, praying mantis, and some birds. Pesticides in their migration path and logging in Mexico are causing a reduction in monarch numbers.
· Joan also repairs wings of injured monarchs.
Jeff presented Joan with a donation from the club to the Friends of Rondeau tagging program.
3. Jeff: Update on the Pints for Polio
- Nothing new since our last meeting.
4. Paul/Kees: Update on Road clean-up and corn stalk clean-up downtown.
- Paul has decided that we won’t do a road clean-up this fall. Not much to clean up on the short grass sections; grass too long in others.
- Kees said that the corn stalk clean-up is on Friday at 9:00 am. Several volunteers.
- Corn stalks will be taken to the arena parking lot for the Halloween event on Oct. 31, 2-4 pm.
5. Jeff: Assistance for the Salvation Army Christmas Season.
- It was decided that we not participate this year.
6. Jeff: Update on the Christmas Party.
- To be held on Monday, Dec. 6th.
- Ron has all the meal details under control. Jeff to send members the menu.
- ACW doing the meal, Ben and Pinnell’s the desserts.
7. Henny/Kees: Crocus sales.
- The Crocus sales went well we made Net $1760 for End Polio Now a total of 3000 crocuses were sold with this fundraiser.
8. Paul: The Chatham-Kent “The Gift”.
- Will take place on Nov. 20, 2021.
- Residents asked to leave food/new toys and or gifts on their front porch at noon on that day.
- Paul hopes that the volunteers from Rotary who picked up the donations in our assigned area last year will do so again.
- More details at the next meeting.
9. Options for Upcoming Speakers – Reminder
Jeff: Final call for items of interest particularly those for the Good of Rotary.
President Jeff asked if there was “Anything for the good of Rotary?”
Jeff closed the meeting at 8:05 pm
The next meeting is on Nov. 8, 2021
The
theme for the 2021-22 Rotary year is
SERVE TO CHANGE LIVES.
AG Ken presenting Jeff with the new club banner
AG presenting the new banner with club
Joan Cofell with her monarch butterfly cage with President Jeff.
2021-22 Club Officers.
