Earth Discovery Institute: Monarch Butterfly Festival June - 2026

Our First Partnership with Earth Discovery Institute 

We were honored to partner with Earth Discovery Institute for their Monarch Butterfly Festival at Crestridge Ecological Reserve in El Cajon.

The event brought families together to celebrate monarch butterflies, native habitat, conservation, and simple ways to support pollinators at home. Zera Coffee Co served coffee, matcha, chai, lemonade, and cold drinks from our mobile trailer, with a portion of proceeds donated right back to support EDI’s work.

As a small business based in East County San Diego, this is the kind of partnership that matters to us. We want Zera to be more than coffee. We want to show up in ways that support good work, create welcoming spaces, and help people gather.

about Earth Discovery Institute

Earth Discovery Institute is an El Cajon based nonprofit with a mission “to inspire stewardship of San Diego’s native biodiversity through environmental education and conservation.” Their vision is an engaged community actively supporting the conservation of San Diego’s unique biodiversity.

That language stood out to us because it is not just about nature in a distant, abstract way. It is about the place we actually live.

East County is full of native habitat, open space, dry hillsides, oak trees, chaparral, wildlife, and quiet places that a lot of people drive past without realizing how much life is there. EDI’s work helps people, including students and families, experience those spaces in a hands-on way.

Crestridge Ecological Reserve is one of the main places where EDI works. Their site describes Crestridge as a nearly 2,800 acre reserve between El Cajon and Alpine, with oak woodlands, riparian areas, coastal sage scrub, chaparral, and other native habitats. EDI also notes that for many students, Crestridge is their first experience visiting a wild, native habitat.

Why monarch butterflies?

The festival was built around monarch butterflies, but really, it was also about habitat. Monarchs are one of those species that people recognize immediately. The orange wings, the migration, the connection to milkweed, all of it feels almost familiar even if you have not studied them closely.

Monarchs are also a species under serious pressure.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service proposed listing the monarch butterfly as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act in December 2024. California’s Department of Fish and Wildlife says both North American migratory monarch populations have declined over the last twenty years because of connected issues like habitat loss, habitat degradation, disease, pesticide exposure, and climate change.

The festival was held at Crestridge Ecological Reserve in El Cajon and centered around monarch butterflies, native habitat, and simple ways families can support pollinators at home. There were native milkweed and flowering plants, crafts, face painting, outdoor activities, and space for families to learn together.

We are still a new business, so every event teaches us something. But this one reminded us why we started. We do not want Zera to be just another vendor booth. We want to partner with events where coffee adds to the day; where people gather, stay a little longer, and feel welcomed.

At the Monarch Butterfly Festival, coffee was not the main thing. The main thing was the monarchs, the native plants, the kids learning, and the community showing up.

We were grateful to be a small part of that.

Thank you to Earth Discovery Institute for inviting us, and thank you to everyone who stopped by the trailer and supported the day.

This was one of those events where Zera felt like more than coffee. It felt like community.

Interested in partnering with Zera Coffee Co? Let us know

Thank you to everyone who stopped by and made the day meaningful.

How to Donate to EDI Directly