A Look into the Bonner Butterfly Garden
Zoie Andre, an undergraduate researcher in the Perry Lab, and Eleanor Terner, a recent graduate and co-founder of the Bonner Butterfly Garden, share their thoughts on their project
March 11, 2025
By Rikako Ono
The Bonner Butterfly Garden is a quaint garden situated next to UC San Diego’s Bonner Hall, offering a variety of native plants for students to admire and study.
The Bonner Butterfly Garden was planned in 2020 and built in 2021 by undergraduate students in Assistant Professor Michael Perry’s Lab at UC San Diego’s School of Biological Sciences, including former undergraduate student Eleanor Terner. Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the project was initiated as a way to engage in a meaningful research and education effort while adhering to health and safety restrictions.
Undergraduate student volunteers under the guidance of Assistant Professor Michael Perry built the Bonner Butterfly Garden.
Perry Lab, UC San Diego
“It was entirely built by the hands of many dedicated (UC San Diego community members), just from the grass patch it once was to the space it is today,” said Terner.
Today, the Bonner Butterfly Garden is a thriving ecosystem boasting a diverse variety of native San Diego plants known to attract butterflies and other pollinators (See butterfly photo gallery). Species such as the California buckwheat (Eriogonum fasciculatum), narrowleaf milkweed (Asclepias fascicularis), Santa Barbara Milk Vetch (Astragalus trichopodus) and the desert mallow (Sphaeralcea ambigua) provide essential caterpillar host plants and nectar sources for various butterfly species, while other non-native species, such as fennel (Foniculum vulgare) and parsley (Petroselinum crispum), attract popular butterflies such as the Anise swallowtail (Papilio zelicaon).
“The main purpose of this garden is to be an example garden,” said Terner. “Anyone in San Diego can put these plants in their garden — and they’re very low maintenance since their purpose is to be in native San Diego soil.”
Zoie Andre walks along the path that crosses the Bonner Butterfly Garden.
Perry Lab, UC San Diego
“This garden requires a lot of general maintenance throughout the year,” said undergraduate researcher Zoie Andre. “Within this garden, we have been trying new perennial plants (and) new nectar plants ... so it’s really ever-changing, working with the space to see what plants work here, and what plants attract the insects we want to see.”
Andre also uses the Bonner Butterfly Garden in collaboration with the UC San Diego Pollinator Club to expose students to native pollinators and their interactions with the local flora. Additionally, professors and students use the garden to observe insects and plants in their natural habitats, facilitating research and learning opportunities involving native San Diego species.
“I did my undergraduate thesis in the Biology Honors program, and I used butterflies that were found in this garden in that research,” said Terner. “Although it is for outreach and education, there are many other uses as well.”
In these ways, the garden serves not only as a green space, but also as a living laboratory for those studying native pollinators.
A Fiery Skipper butterfly sits atop a Lilac Verbina 'De La Mina' flower.
Perry Lab, UC San Diego
In the future, Andre aims to make the garden more engaging for visitors. One of her primary goals is to establish a seed library, offering free native plant seeds to community members so that they can replicate the garden in their own spaces. In this way, Andre hopes to spread awareness and encourage the cultivation of native plants and make the butterfly garden experience more educational (pic 4).
Andre encourages students and faculty to drop by Bonner Butterfly Garden. “Take some time to slow down, look for insects, have lunch and enjoy the space,” she said. “And learn a little bit about native plants and pollinators!”