The Butterfly Farmer

The Butterfly Farmer of Aptos is Mari Jean Baker – mother, wife, sister, friend, and so much more.

Mari begins every day early, walking along the beach with her husband to savor the fresh air and attempt to capture the perfect sunrise photo. She enjoys tending to her ever-expanding garden, which includes a 67-year old Desert Tortoise, and a growing population of Monarch Butterflies.

When she’s not in the garden, Mari is passionate about her community, her family, friends, and enjoying the simple wonders of life. Good music, dancing even though everybody’s watching, a strong margarita, and making people laugh. She bakes one heck of a loaf of sourdough, and would love to sit and talk with anyone about what brings them joy.

Mari is a leader, listener, collaborator, doer, and dreamer. If you’d like to learn more about Monarch Butterflies, or just want to chat and get to know the Butterfly Farmer, feel free to shoot her an email below.

Meet the Butterfly Farmer

500+

Monarch Butterflies Emerged

In the past year, we have seen roughly 500 butterflies emerge from their chrysalises in our garden.

70+

Milkweed Plants

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200+

Average New Caterpillars

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What We Do

What does it mean to be a “Butterfly Farmer?”

Habitat Rebuilding

Monarchs are experiencing increasing habitat loss. To rebuild, we provide the necessary resources for caterpillars to thrive and reach the pupa stage.

Repopulation

Once caterpillars have reached the delicate pupa stage, we create safe areas for them to fully transition and regrow the dying Monarch population, despite winter climates and other natural factors.

Learning and Sharing

We are always learning about how to safely recover and conserve the Monarch population. Sharing our knowledge and excitement about butterflies will hopefully inspire others to do the same!