Aiden’s Butterflies
Meet 11-year-old Aiden Wang, who has been growing milkweed and harboring and releasing Monarch Butterflies since he was 6 years old. We join Aiden in a journey ranging from nature preserves to city streets as he meets new friends and asks us all to help preserve the endangered beautiful monarch butterfly with its dependence on the diminishing supply of milkweed.
Aiden's Butterflies is an inspiring short film that takes the audience on a journey with 11-year old Aiden as he seeks to protect the endangered monarch butterfly. Aiden was first inspired to aid the endangered monarch butterfly after a 1st grade life-cycle unit in elementary school. Witnessing the importance of milkweed for monarchs, he was determined to make a difference - by growing milkweed and raising young butterfly larvae into adulthood. In the wild, the survival rate of young monarchs is only 5-10%; but when raised indoors it shoots up to 95%.
Monarch catepillars use milkweed to lay their eggs, and for the first summer, Aiden didn’t get many. However, as the years passed and his milkweed grew and grew, more and more of these majestic butterflies found themselves attracted to these plants. In the third summer, he nursed 25 young butterflies; in the fourth, 93. He expected to have over 1000 eggs to take care of in no time!
Soon enough, he was also convincing friends and neighbors to plant milkweed too, for the butterflies. In 2017, after helping sow milkweed seeds at the Dunwald Farm in Hopewell, he caught the eye of Olga Talyn, a filmmaker in the area. She, along with Brad Mays, were utterly inspired by the boy’s enthusiasm and love for these butterflies, and realized his project would be perfect to create a film about. The product - a 13-minute documentary - was featured at the Princeton Environmental Film Festival and the Paradigm Shifts Music and Film Festival. Aiden’s project and fascination for butterflies made a large, positive impact on the butterfly population, and the film captures his love for these winged creatures beautifully.
Aiden’s Butterflies has screened at numerous festivals, including the Princeton Environmental Film Festival and the Wild and Scenic Film Festival, where it is a part of the travelling festival. Aiden’s Butterflies is especially inspiring for children!
