Liam Lopez-Wagner - He Was Born To Be a Lepidopterist
Liam
Lopez-Wagner – He Was Born For This
Class,
our vocabulary word for today is “lepidopterist” – that is someone who studies
butterflies and moths. To the best of my knowledge Liam Lopez-Wagner is the
very first lepidopterist to cross my path. If the seven year old Liam has his
way, we could be meeting many more in the future.
The
skeptical among you might be wondering, “How can a young man of seven earn the
label ‘lepidopterist’?” Rightly so, that is a logical question. Will and Betsy,
his parents, can testify that Liam took an active interest in these delicate
winged creatures before he hit his second birthday.
“It
was at the Smithsonian’s Museum of Natural History, during a work related trip
to Washington D.C. for World Ocean Day, that Liam attached the word
‘lepidopterist’ to himself after meeting one with his dad,” Betsy Lopez-Wagner
recalled. “He became fascinated with the Madagascan moon moth in D.C. and loved
the monarch’s colors and migration stories.”
When
the family returned to California, where they lived before moving to Lowell,
Liam began to learn about the western monarch there and found out that the
population was in danger and declining because their habitat was being
destroyed. He decided then that he wanted to help.
“I
first fell in love with butterflies when I was two,” Liam related. “Why
butterflies? Because they fly with four wings and they look so beautiful – with
all the colors of the rainbow.”
Fast
forward five years and one can easily see Liam has taken his vow to help
butterflies very seriously. He has a website: www.amigosformonarchs.org
where you can go to learn how to help his winged friends. You can find him and his
amigos on Facebook as well. April 22nd marked his fourth year of
giving away milkweed seed kits to help others put monarch gardens on their
property to feed his friends as they travel. Liam is now offering a FREE seed
kit on his website. His efforts caught the attention of Scholastic News magazine
which featured him as the cover story of their May/June edition. He recently
spoke at Bushnell elementary and has starting receiving letters from school
kids who read the story in Scholastic News.
Whew
– this young man is so busy advocating for the planet his parents have to
hustle to keep up with him.
I
can tell you firsthand that Liam is not a quiet-sit- in-the-corner-with-a-book
seven year old. He has many passions including rocks and minerals, his
chickens, playing Pac-Man, and he loves tooling around the family farm on his
electric powered dirt quad razor. Liam was presented with the opportunity to
learn how to change a tire when he “jumped” his razor over a wooden pallet.
Liam
is very fond of his chickens. He once told his parents, “I hug chickens because
I can’t hug a butterfly.”
His
parents share his concern for nature and our planet. “Get outdoors” is a theme
at their house. They love Michigan in all of its seasons and encourage people
to experience everything the earth has to offer and suggest picking up some
litter while out enjoying the beach, woods or your favorite park. If we all do
just a little to conserve and protect the planet that feeds us all, things will
go better for the butterflies and other pollinators as well as the future
generations that Liam represents.
When
asked if he was the only seven year old lepidopterist Liam responded, “I don’t
know. I hope not! I want other kids to be one too.”
He
continued by reporting that kids seem to respond to his messages about taking
care of the environment for all creatures and to avoid using pesticides and
other “toxic things” better than adults. (NOTE: Come on grown-ups, we can do
better.)
Lowell
is very fortunate to have Liam as our resident lepidopterist. If anyone takes
the time to reach out to him, you can be sure he will respond. Warning: his
enthusiasm is very contagious.
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