A Stagg High School student used his passion for monarch butterflies and nature conservation to create a community event that drew thousands of visitors Saturday to the school.
“It’s absolutely amazing that a teenager can create such a large event that’s student-run with a focus on conservation … to make the world a better place,” said Eric Olsen, principal of the school in Palos Hills. “Most adults would struggle to make something like this.”
It started in 2016 when Peter Gordan, 18, now a senior at the school, founded an organization called Homes 4 Monarchs after he discovered the monarch butterfly population had declined by 80 percent in 20 years.
He learned that main factors for the decline were the widespread use of pesticides, herbicides and the destruction of native habitats, which includes the milkweed plants that the monarchs need to live.
Gordan started an awareness campaign through events and social media to education people about the importance of milkweed and the ecosystem.
He also started fundraising and between 2016 and 2019 he said he distributed more than 20,000 packets of milkweed seeds to people.
Gordan said he’s on track to distribute that many packets again, in 2019 to 2020 alone.
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He hopes people will plant milkweed in a portion of their yards to provide refuge for monarchs and other pollinators.
And Gordan also started the Conservation Exposition, or ConEx, at his school last year to further educate the community about conservation.
Last year’s event included about 40 like-minded organizations from around the region and drew about 1,000 people.
This year’s event included more than 80 organizations, 130 vendor tables and drew more than 2,500 people, organizers said.
“This year, I knew more about what I was doing,” Gordan said.
Gordan said he put in hundreds of hours organizing the events and promoting it, as well as cold calling individuals and organizations.
“I think this is wonderful,” said Jodi Trendler, co-founder of the Naperville-based The Resiliency Institute, which had a table at ConEx.
She said was there teaching people about suburban permaculture, which is a practice of maintaining a native ecosystem in yards.
Jan Pietrzak of the Palos Restoration Project, a volunteer effort through the Cook County Forest Preserve District, had a table showing what volunteers are doing in the Palos preserves in hopes of attracting more volunteers.
“I’m very happy to be here,” he said. “I think Peter does an outstanding job.”
Pietrzak said volunteers are working to promote more native plants in the preserves and clear invasive European buckthorn, which shades the ground and doesn’t allow anything else to grow.
Gordan also volunteers at the Field Museum and was able to rent a Tyrannosaurus Rex skull replica, which was a major attraction for families at this year’s event.
Brian Woods of Tinley Park said he brought his 4-year-old son to look at the T-Rex skull because he likes dinosaurs.
“It’s good fun for the family,” he said about the event. “And it’s educational.”
Jon Chronos of Palos Heights said his 3-year-old daughter also was having fun at the event and his considering the importance of milkweed in his yard.
Gordan hasn’t decided which college he wants to attend, but would like to study environmental science.
He said he’d like organize something similar to ConEx at whichever school he attends.
Gordan he might also come back to Stagg to help organize ConEx again, possibly next spring.
“He’s just one of the most unique students we’ve ever had,” said Ian MacLeod, assistant principal at Stagg. “We’re happy to let him do this.”
Gordan is scheduling smaller events this year for Homes 4 Monarchs and he invites anyone interested to email [email protected].
He said anyone also can request free milkweed seeds through that email address.
Frank Vaisvilas is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.
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