Just as a caterpillar changes into a beautiful butterfly, so have abandoned train cars in Cape May turned into beautiful murals.
The Nature Conservancy (TNC) and RevRail partnered to turn three unused, unpurposed cars along the rail line into murals that celebrate the monarch butterfly’s life cycle from caterpillar to adult. They are located at the front of TNC’s Garrett Family Preserve, which has thousands of resident monarchs. Local artist Alex Lebron was inspired to create the public art installation, which is in addition to an interactive monarch butterfly statue and artist easels located throughout the preserve.
The preserve and new murals are open to the public, and a ribbon-cutting celebration for the murals will take place May 21, rain or shine.
While at the Garrett Family Preserve, you can hike or bike on 4+ miles of trails, and see the bird blind, an insect hotel, a poetry path, permanent easels, a sculpture called “Dream Machine Monarch” by Rubem Robierb, wildflower meadows, a salt marsh, a pavilion area and Braille trail loops.
Rather than drive to the preserve, consider pedaling along RevRail’s historic railways, which stops so you can walk on a loop trail through the wildflower fields, which include milkweed planted by TNC to feed the monarch butterfly caterpillars.
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