Our Roots

Hi, I’m Angelica Vera, the founder of Biology and Butterflies LLC. Thank you for taking the time to learn more about who we are and the heart behind our work.

I’ve loved butterflies for as long as I can remember. It started when I was very young, spending time in the garden and simply noticing everything around me. Watching the life cycle of a butterfly, seeing flowers grow, noticing how each creature played a role in the space around them. It wasn’t just something I liked. It was something that felt natural to me, something I understood deeply.

As I began planting more intentionally for Texas native butterflies, something beautiful happened. My garden started to fill with life. Frogs, lizards, birds, pollinators, all finding their way into the space. I wasn’t just gardening anymore. I was witnessing an entire ecosystem in my own front and backyard. It taught me patience. It taught me awareness. It taught me how to slow down and truly observe the world around me.

Gardening became a place I returned to whenever I needed calm. As someone who has always been active and involved in sports, I realized that gardening offered a different kind of outlet. Instead of releasing energy, it helped me transfer it. There is something deeply grounding about planting a seed, caring for it, and watching it grow. About creating a space for life and watching that life thrive.

Because of how meaningful that experience has been for me, I truly believe other children can feel that same connection if they are given the opportunity. Biology and Butterflies was created from that belief. A different kind of program. One that gives children space to slow down, observe, connect with nature, and experience the kind of wonder that stays with them long after the moment ends.

If Mother Nature could take the form of a person, she would be my grandmother, Benita. With the greenest thumb I’ve ever known, she could turn even the simplest patch of earth into a thriving garden filled with life, color, and care.

I grew up watching her hands work the soil, teaching me that plants are not just decorations. They are homes. They are food. They are lifelines for butterflies, bees, and the many living creatures we often overlook. Through her, I learned that caring for the earth is an act of responsibility and love.

My family comes from Michoacán, Mexico, where monarch butterflies migrate every year, filling the sky with orange as they return home. In our culture, monarchs are more than butterflies. They are symbols of spirit, remembrance, and connection. They are believed to carry the presence of loved ones who have passed, returning to visit during Día de los Muertos. Because of this, monarchs hold a sacred place in our hearts.

Like the monarchs, my grandmother migrated too, bringing with her a deep respect for the land, a love of growing things, and the traditions she learned in her own childhood. She had lived close to the earth her entire life, caring for animals, tending gardens, and restoring life to what others had given up on. She could take a struggling plant, one left behind or discarded, and bring it back to life with patience and care.

She did not just plant gardens. She planted values. She planted patience. She planted reverence for life.

It was through her that I learned to see nature not just as something beautiful, but as something meaningful, connected, and worth protecting.

What Biology and Butterflies is really about goes beyond a program. It is a way to slow down and reconnect. It gives children the chance to dig, touch, observe, and feel wonder again. It is about watching a seed they planted begin to grow. It is about gently holding a caterpillar and realizing it is alive in their hands.

It is about families spending time together outdoors. Learning together. Growing something real. The kind of connection that does not require screens or pressure or schedules, just time, nature, and care.

Yes, there is science involved. But behind the science, there is purpose. There is calm. There is healing. There is joy. There is a reminder that we belong to something bigger, and that when we take care of the Earth, it takes care of us too.

That is what this work is really about. Connection. To nature. To each other. To the moment we are in.

I am still learning and still growing, just like the butterflies teach us. Every season, every program, and every child reminds me why I do this. To share what I love. To give back. To help the next generation fall in love with the Earth the same way I did.

Welcome to Biology and Butterflies. I hope you find as much wonder, joy, and transformation here as I have.