Bailey Butterfly Fest & Native Plant Sale
Saturday, March 28, 2025
4020 Lost Oasis Hollow, Austin, TX 78739
Plant Sale: 9:00AM - 2:00PM
Festival: 11:00AM - 2:00PM
Bailey Middle School's Butterfly Fest & Native Plant Sale is a fundraiser for the school's Native Plants & Animals program and an opportunity for our community to celebrate and learn about Texas' unique plants and pollinators. Not only are native plants hardier and easier to maintain, but they are necessary to helping our birds, bees, butterflies, and other local pollinators thrive!
Post a photo of yourself at Butterfly Fest & use the tag #baileybutterflyfest for a chance to win a butterfly hatching kit!
Education Stations
Ask an Arborist
Ask an arborist from Tree Amigos about selecting, planting, pruning, and maintaining your trees.
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Worm Castings & Compost
Buy worm casting fertilizer and learn how to start your own worm composting bin with Austin Worm Lab (the official vendor of Bailey's Vermicomposting Project!).​
Ask a Landscaper
PollyDog Landscapes will help attendees learn about native landscape design and provide free native plant brochures.
Cave Tours
The Texas Cave Management Association will be hosting free tours of the Lost Oasis Cave Preserve, located directly across from Bailey Middle School! (Please wear pants and closed-toe shoes. Visitors will need to climb up/down a 6-foot ladder.)​​​
Ask a Conservationist
Austin Water Wildland Conservation will showcase its "seed petting zoo" and help you sign up for guided wildland tours!
Free Mushroom Blocks
Central Texas Mycology will be giving away free mushroom blocks and educating visitors on how to grow mushrooms at home.
Activities & Entertainment
Nature Crafts
Make ​a hanging butterfly feeder, bee waterer, and wildflower planter while learning how you can create a native habitat in your own yard!
Game Zone
Play fun games like "Monarch Migration," (kid-friendly) axe-throwing, and a free play zone with sports and lawn games.​
Critter Corner
Come check out Bailey's campus coop to pet chickens, ducks, and rabbits. We'll also have an area to play with worms!
Why Buy Native Plants?
Low Maintenance
Native plants require less water and are resistant to pests and diseases.
Support Wildlife
Local insects and animals depend on native plants for food and shelter.
Prevent Erosion
Native plants stabilize soil with their roots, absorb water & slow water runoff.
Improve Soil
Native plants help with nutrient cycling, soil structure & water filtration.
Don't Be Fooled by
the Wrong Milkweed!
Did you know that Monarch butterfly caterpillar ONLY feeds on the milkweed bush? However, not all milkweed is the same! Most nurseries sell a variety called Tropical Milkweed that is native to Central and South America — NOT Texas.
Planting tropical milkweed harms Monarch butterflies:
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Tropical milkweed blooms in the cold weather and confuses Monarchs, making them try to overwinter locally instead of migrating South.
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Tropical milkweed can harbor a spore-driven disease called Ophryocystis Elektroscirrha that kills Monarchs.
The good news is, there are over 30 species of milkweed plants that are native to Texas! One of the most important for monarch butterflies is Antelope Horns because it isa common milkweed plant that grows in pastures and along roadsides throughout the central flyway of Texas, the path that most Monarchs take on their migration through Texas. (And guess what? We'll be selling both Antelope Horns and Zizotes milkweed at the Bailey Butterfly Fest & Native Plant Sale!)
Learn More & Get Involved
Please contact baileymsnpa@gmail.com if you have general questions about Butterfly Fest or if you are interested in volunteering, hosting a table, or promoting your business as an event sponsor.