S3E5, Why did the Caterpillar Cross the Road? To get to the Artillery Range

Welcome to Season 3, Episode 5, Why did the Caterpillar Cross the Road? To get to the Artillery Range. A story about the metamorphosis of a prison into a butterfly rearing facility for endangered species recovery. This episode is all about the Sustainability in Prisons Project’s (SPP) Taylor’s Checkerspot Butterfly Program. In this episode, we learn more about the program with Mary Linders, endangered species biologist and we talk with Liz Louie, former butterfly technician, about her experience rearing Taylor’s checkerspot butterflies. 

This season is all about the Sustainability in Prisons Project (otherwise referred to as SPP), how they bring education, nature and training into the prisons to reduce recidivism and protect and enhance our environment. This season (we now know) is 7 episodes long. In the first episode we got into how it all started; Episode 2 provided a background on the prison system and an introduction to SPP. Episode 3 was all about partnerships, which is really what SPP is, a network of partners working to bring education and nature into the prison system. Last episode provided an overview of the Conservation Programs at SPP and then we got into more of the details of the Conservation Nursery Programs and how they are involved in prairie restoration.

We start off the episode with a few fun facts, including:

A group of butterflies is called a kaleidoscope, although sometimes referred to as a flutter, flight or swarm. A group of caterpillars is called an army.

According to the Smithsonian: There are about 18,500 butterfly species worldwide (except Antarctica). Of those, around 750 are found in the US.

Interviewees this Episode

Mary Linders

Mary has worked as an endangered species recovery biologist for the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) since 1994.  For the past 18 years she has worked to protect and recover populations of five at-risk prairie and oak-associated species in the South Puget Sound region.  As the lead biologist overseeing captive rearing and population re-establishment of the federally endangered Taylor’s checkerspot butterfly, Mary has grown the project from a captive rearing test trial to a program with two captive rearing facilities, 14 field sites, and nine conservation partners.  All told, this effort is transforming 1000s of acres of degraded grassland to high quality native prairie benefitting a multitude of other species.  Mary holds a Master’s degree in Wildlife Science from the University of Washington-Seattle and a Bachelor’s degree in Anthropology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Liz Louie

Liz is currently the manager of the FareStart Resta