Lessons & Reflections from the National Butterfly Center

About two weeks ago, tragedy struck. I’m not talking about the lightning that hit our transformer, but a much more nefarious strike, around 30 miles from us.

Tuesday night, August 19, after the gates of the Valley Nature Center closed in Weslaco, three teenaged boys jumped the fence and chose to torture, mutilate, kill and take five of the center’s Texas Tortoises. These docile, protected animals never stood a chance against these cowardly thugs, who gutted and decapitated two of the animals, while another was stomped outside of the park, according to surveillance video that captured these horrific acts.

Much of the public at-large, and all of the nature community, are aghast at the brutality and senselessness of these crimes.

“Who would do such a thing?!” is the question everyone keeps asking, and I find myself answering simply, “Boys.”

Not just any boys, but boys growing up in a culture of violence that values nothing but dominance, destruction and kill ratios. Boys growing up without regard for anything other than their own savage impulses. Boys who’ve been fed a steady diet of cable television, video games and gang glorification. Boys who know nothing of Nature’s beauty or majesty, only the harsh glare of incandescent bulbs and the stain of cockroaches smashed on a tile floor.

I know it sounds like something from a dime store tabloid, but I have little doubt it will be the true crime story of these certified juvenile delinquents, in the end.

We already know these boys—and girls—because we meet them regularly on forced outings to places like ours, and it terrifies me.

What you do not hear when I write about lessons and reflections from the National Butterfly Center is that I am often dumbstruck by experiences with schoolchildren and adults that show me the enormity of the challenge before us.

I am frustrated by having to explain to a superintendent the relevance of traditional field education to his “core academic focus on STEM,” (the newfangled acronym for Science, Technology, Engineering and Math).

I am enraged by the teachers who refuse to accompany their students outside because “it’s icky out there.”

I am left speechless when confronted by parents who demand to know why their children should have exposure to careers in the outdoors, “as if they are going to grow up to cut someone’s grass.”

And I am more than saddened by the adolescents who literally cry in fear when the butterflies come near.

How on Earth did we arrive here?!

If this were my manifesto, I would say JOIN ME, GIVE TO ME, HELP ME; WE CANNOT LET THIS STAND!!! So, I guess I must, because there are many in our community who’ve responded to this horrific incident with, “What’s the big deal? They’re just a bunch of turtles.”

Call me insane for saying they will not die in vain, but neither my friend Hollie, Executive Director of the Valley Nature Center, nor any of us at the National Butterfly Center, will allow it.

Will you?

If you are willing to write to our District Attorney and the judge to whom this trial is assigned concerning the importance of species conservation and environmental education, please provide your name and email address, so we may enlist your aid. Your contact information will not be used for any purpose other than updates regarding this case.

Thank you!