Eagles Four Seasons Butterfly House

The Philadelphia Eagles Four Seasons Butterfly House and Education Centre at the Camden Children's Garden is open to the public! Visitors can observe between nine and fifteen species of butterflies flying, basking, nectaring, and laying eggs in their 1,200 square foot home. A peaceful pond, bubbling fountains and soft environmental music provides gentle background sounds as visitors experience over 100 butterflies in their lush tropical environment.

The Philadelphia Eagles Four Seasons Butterfly House and Education Centre was initiated at the Camden Children's Garden by a generous leadership gift from the Philadelphia Eagles Youth Partnership and the Philadelphia Eagles Alumni Association. Four Seasons Sunrooms of Lindenwold, NJ quickly joined the Eagles as a major supporter of the project. Other supporters include Campbell Soup Foundation, New Jersey American Water Company, EP Henry, and for educational programming, the State of New Jersey Department of Community Affairs.

The combined generosity of our major Butterfly House supporters inspired more than 50 other individuals and organizations to contribute money, products, or in-kind services to the project. Also noteworthy to the project was the dedication of Architects: Venturi, Scott - Brown and Associates, artists from the Camden Creative Arts High School and Frank Malinoski. In addition, over 640 volunteers, including the entire Eagles organization, came out to donate their sweat-equity at a workday event on June 19, 2001.

The Monarchs and Painted Ladies seem content at every level from the floor to the peak of the roof. The Pipevine and Black Swallowtails seem to prefer a more mid-range height. The Zebra Longwings and Julias like to eat at the higher elevations but are our best "fliers" at the visitors' eye level. The Red Admirals are difficult to spot at all but we know they are there. Occasionally, and depending on availability, Viceroy, Great Southern White, Gulf Fritillary, Malachite, Buckeye, Queen, Tiger Swallowtail and Cloudless Giant Sulphur can also be seen fluttering and floating throughout the Butterfly House.

Our host plant collection is extensive but always in jeopardy as its sole reason for being is to be eaten. The Monarchs lay their eggs on tropical milkweed. The Painted Ladies prefer Mallow or Hibiscus. Pipevine Swallowtails are partial to tropical Pipevine, whereas the Black Swallowtails have a buffet of Parsley, Dill, Fennel, and Rue to choose from. The Julias and Zebra Longwings lay their eggs on the tips of the curled tendrils of the Passion Flower vine.

For those people with a passion for butterflies, we offer a Butterfly Docent Training program. After successfully completing the training program, you will quality to be a Butterfly House Volunteer.

If you would like to learn more about butterflies, or simply take home a souvenir, Ginkgo's Gift Shop is filled with garden and butterfly related items.

The Philadelphia Eagles Four Seasons Butterfly House and Education Centre is available for evening rentals. For more information, contact us @ 1.856.365.8733.