Page 23 - AHATA

A14 LOCAL
Wednesday 13 February 2019

The Goldmine Ranch goes Hall of Fame

ORANJESTAD — We have an im- depend highly on direct bookings.
portant news to share today. This We compete against larger chains,
year once more we were recog- corporations, boycotts from hotels,
nized by Tripadvisor with the Cer- and a large number of activity pro-
tificate of Excellence for the year viders. But against all odds, we are
2018. What makes this year even still here.
more special is the addition to the
Hall of Fame. After receiving the Off course none of this would not
Certificate of Excellence for 7 con- be possible without our team. We
secutive years, we are now in the have a team of hard working and
Hall of Fame as well. passionate guides who understand
the importance of customer ser-
Our emotions are high and our vice and place love for nature and
hearts filled with gratitude. First of animals above everything else.
all, we would like to thank every- Aside from a stable we are also an
one who took the time to write a animal rescue sanctuary for many
review. Thank you for choosing us years now. And we will continue to
and giving us the opportunity to work to provide shelter to animals
provide a wonderful and memo- in need.
rable vacation experience! As we
always say: “let us be the highlight Thank you everyone for the
of your vacation”. This is what we support,q
continuously strive for. To all our
loyal repeat guests who continue
to visit us year after year, we love
you all!

Secondly, we would like to thank
Tripadvisor for providing an impor-
tant platform that brings us closer
to guests all over the world. Without
this platform it would be difficult to
learn about your experiences. And
also for others to learn about every-
thing that Aruba has to offer. Thank
you for putting us out there. Also,
as a local and family run stable we

The Orange Ribbon Campaign marks Monarch Awareness Month

is green colored with a golden ring adorning it.
In this pupa the caterpillar transforms into the
orange-colored Monarch butterfly.
The Orange Ribbon Campaign has been
launched to raise awareness about the impor-
tance of conserving the milkweed host plant,
and, at the same time, helping protect the lo-
cal Monarch butterfly population. When you
see this orange ribbon wrapped around a milk-
weed, it symbolizes the promise to protect and
conserve this plant and the recognition of the
Monarch butterfly as a valuable part of our lo-
cal ecosystem.

The Monarch butterfly is known worldwide, and
is renowned for their annual grand migration,
where they fly thousands of miles from North-
ORANJESTAD -- The Butterfly Farm Aruba be- ern US/Southern Canada to several hiberna-
gins the celebration of its 20 anniversary with a tion sites in Mexico with colonies reaching over
campaign to conserve the local Monarch but- a million in number. These Monarch sanctuar-
terfly. Orange ribbons will be placed at several ies attract many visitors yearly. Throughout the
locations where milkweed, the Monarch’s host years, de-routed Monarchs have inhabited the
plant, grows wild. Caribbean Islands.
Join the Orange Ribbon Campaign. Visit the
The Monarch butterfly depends solely on the Butterfly Farm in the month of February to get
milkweed plant (Calitropis procera) for its repro- your orange ribbon, and help tag the milkweed
duction. plants in your neighborhood. Together we can
The female Monarch lays her eggs on this plant, make a difference.q
and the caterpillars that hatch use this plant as
their exclusive food source. After a few weeks of Photos of Monarch butterflies by Roger Peterson.
feeding, the caterpillars make their pupa, which