by Mia Taylor

Monarch populations are teetering on extinction, their numbers down to 5% of what they were a few decades ago. Here's what to know and the simplest way to help.

Did you know that unless you have an acre or more of land in Middletown, it's nearly impossible to be in compliance with Middletown's current chicken keeping rules? One of our members is facing $100/day fine because her coop is less than 25 feet from her neighbor's property line. Because of the size of her backyard, regardless of where she moves the coop--it would still be violating this ordinance. Chicken keeping policies are different in nearly every city/town in the state but are mostly focused on the size of property and not on the things chickens actually need to be healthy. We know that urban communities, communities with higher numbers of BILPOC residents, lower-income communities are less likely to be able to meet chicken keeping requirements across the state.

Our members drafted a new set of rules for Middletown that would focus on the space the chickens need, and not on the space between properties. People have a right to be self-sufficient without the fear of a $100/day fine.

Sign on to this petition and tell the City of Middletown to give us all a real Right to Farm! katal.info/MtownChickens

Today our partners at Morena Farming and Chicks Ahoy Farm partnered together to put up a coop and welcome 9 chickens to the Miller Street Community Farm. Alongside community members, we learned about the basics for caring for the chickens, set up the food and water feeders, laid woodchips in their nesting area, and fed them sunflower seeds. In the coming week, we'll make sure their predator protection is set up to keep them as safe as possible. The chickens in this coop will provide eggs, an important protein source, for the neighbors on Miller/Bridge in Middletown. Check out pics from the day, and if you're interested in learning more about chickens or helping with the care of our birds, please write to diana@katalcenter.org.