The Migration Installation decorated with photographs of the different phases of metamorphosis for Earth Day 2023
Avery McMurtry's installation, The Migration, was a highlight of Sullivan’s Island's First Annual Earth Day Celebration. Visitors of all ages were able to walk through the lifecycle of a monarch butterfly. Each year, 300 million monarch butterflies migrate through South Carolina as part of a 3,000-mile journey from the south of Mexico to Central Canada. Sadly, the population of monarch butterflies has decreased by 97% over the past 20 years, making them an endangered species. Nestled in the corner of the Sullivan’s Island Community Garden stands the Migration; the broad wire frame, draped in white, vinyl mesh, is a scientific installation designed and built by Avery McMurtry.
Avery McCarty in the Sullivan's Island Community Garden infant of the Migration Installation
In preparation for the Earth Day Village, McMurtry decorated the exterior of the installation with enlarged photographs, each depicting the four distinct stages of metamorphosis.
She also prepared a variety of coloring sheets with topics ranging from monarch butterflies to scenes of the maritime forest. McMurtry strolled through the community garden with young visitors, pointing out different fruits, vegetables, and plants being grown in the beds. In an Earth Day anecdote, she shared that she was able to convince a young boy to try a piece of arugula, picked right from Sullivan’s Island Garden beds.
Despite monarch butterflies not being in season, the crowds of visitors were actively engaged throughout their tour of the installation. In the center of the Earth Day Village, McMurtry placed an Earth Day pledge poster for the community to sign, which represents a community commitment to helping protect the local and global environment.
I pledge to take care of the Earth and live sustainably in harmony with nature.
The installation functionally serves as a butterfly enclosure, specifically for monarch butterflies that migrate through Sullivan’s Island each fall. McMurtry collaborated with a local fabricator, Spencer Kerce of 4Cast Signs, to help design and build the installation. The techniques and mediums she chose for this project expanded her artistic style and boundaries.
In collaboration with the Sullivan’s Island Community Garden, McMurtry raised over 80 milkweed plants in her garden plots to attract monarch butterflies. She carefully harvested monarch caterpillars and larvae from the local gardens and environment, separating them into multiple mesh enclosures in her garage. This increased their chance of survival to adulthood and reduced the risk of parasites and diseases. Once the monarchs reached the chrysalis phase, they were moved to The Migration.
At a Sullivan’s Island town council meeting, Avery McMurtry met Adele, of Adele’s Pottery on Sullivan’s, about a year ago. Adele has taken care of the Sullivan’s Island Community Garden for many years and continues to do so, even though she no longer has a garden bed. McMurtry and Adele connected over their shared interest in protecting and preserving the environment.
When McMurtry was approached by Sullivan’s Island for All to participate in the Earth Day Village on Sullivan’s Island, she enthusiastically accepted. Her love for the local wildlife began at a young age, growing up coming to Sullivan’s Island she spent most of her free time playing in the maritime forest or swimming in the ocean. She has always been dedicated to learning about the local island and its ecosystems. McMurtry and her mom, Deirdre, have always been very close. Deirdre is an active member of the Sullivan’s Island Turtle Patrol team, she also shares her daughter’s passion for the Sullivan’s Island ecosystems.
“The closer you pay attention to the little things in our ecosystem the better we can understand our environment as a whole. I encourage people to zoom in and explore the smallest, most minuscule forms of life”
As a child, McMurtry developed a sense of wonder for even the littlest parts of our planet. Playing in forests and creeks around her home as a child, she noticed the importance and role of each species in the local ecosystem. Roly-polies, American Green Treefrog, Monarch Caterpillars, and Inchworms alone require an immense amount of work to support. She became intrigued by the wonder in nature and the resources required to support even the most minuscule forms of life.
Earth Day Turtle Patrol Station
McMurtry and her mother, Deirdre, are very close, and Deirdre is an active member of the Sullivan’s Island Turtle Patrol team, sharing her daughter’s passion for the island's ecosystems.
McMurtry's ultimate goal with The Migration is to inspire a sense of wonder in the littlest parts of our environment. As a child, she developed a sense of wonder for even the smallest parts of our planet, noticing the importance and role of each species in the local ecosystem. She hopes to inspire visitors of all ages to pay closer attention to the environment around us, as it is interconnected and each species of plant and animal relies on the other to survive. The Migration provides an experiential learning environment within the local community, educating visitors on the importance of pollinators and monarch butterflies in local and global ecosystems.
