April 8th Solar Eclipse, Monarch Butterflies & More…

On April 8th, 2024, North America will experience a total solar eclipse! We know LOTS of community members will be visiting Burlington’s Beach to enjoy the eclipse so be sure to pop on by BurlingtonGreen’s headquarters to say hello, learn about our many impactful Spring opportunities, and you can even deposit your cardboard eclipse glasses into our Terracycle recycling box, following the eclipse!

You can also TAKE ACTION while you’re at the beach by joining us for a shoreline litter clean up at 11:00 am. Meet our team members out front of our headquarters located at the historic pump house.

An interesting fact about this eclipse’s path (starting in Mexico, moving through the USA, and then into Canada), is that it mirrors the eastern migration route of the monarch butterfly!

The student-led The Monarch Butterfly Eclipse Project WAS selling ISO-certified solar eclipse glasses, www.monarchbutterflyeclipse.com/BurlingtonGreen, with 20% of the gross sales going directly to support BurlingtonGreen’s year-round Nature-Friendly Burlington program! ( March 31: Glasses are now sold out!)

The Monarch Butterfly Eclipse Project will also use the net proceeds from the sales of the ISO-certified solar eclipse glasses to fund other initiatives that protect the habitat and overall population health of monarch butterflies.

How to Recycle your Monarch Butterfly Eclipse Glasses

Have you been wondering about what you might do with your glasses after the eclipse? We are excited to share some options for reuse and recycling!

RE-USE: Did you know that there will be three more partial eclipses in Ontario over the next few years? If you enjoyed this viewing, you may want to keep your glasses for March 29th 2025 (0-50% coverage), August 12th 2026 (0-20% coverage) and/or January 14th 2029 (50-70% coverage).

Suggestion: Protect your glasses during storage by keeping them in toilet paper rolls

RECYCLE:

Option 1: Thanks to the Burlington Centre, you can drop off your glasses after the April 8th eclipse, during business hours at the Zero Waste zone inside of the Burlington Centre, located just outside of Conspiracy Comics, Bentley and the Fido booth.

Option 2: Are you going to be heading down to Burlington Beach to watch the eclipse on April 8th?
BurlingtonGreen team members will be there to collect glasses for recycling at their beach headquarters located at the historic pump house (1094 Lakeshore Rd).

Option 3: If you do not plan on keeping your glasses and are not able to drop them off at the Burlington Centre or BurlingtonGreen’s headquarters at the beach for recycling, we ask that you please dis-assemble the glasses, place the lenses in the garbage and place the cardboard frames in your recycling bin.

Thank you for thinking Globally, and taking ACTION locally!