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MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:
It's Friday, so it's time for StoryCorps. Ingrid Hoch and Brian Lahr were hired as managers on a big construction project to create a new terminal at the San Diego International Airport. That was in 2020. Before the job could officially begin, COVID hit. Hoch and Lahr told StoryCorps that in the middle of a pandemic, they were looking for ways to boost morale.
INGRID HOCH: When I came back to work in person, it was still masks, it was still distance. And so we planted a vegetable garden that would bring us together. And in early summer, we started to notice that there were four caterpillars.
BRIAN LAHR: And they kept getting bigger and bigger. And once word got out, people were like, hey, man, check out the caterpillars. I mean, you got guys who are walking around with hard hats looking at these little four caterpillars every day.
HOCH: Workers go out there and they're just like, you know what? I just feel more at peace when I'm watching these things. Soon enough, all the little guys make their chrysalis. It's a beautiful lime green cocoon, and within 24 hours, they turn translucent.
LAHR: And your first thought is, oh, crap, it died. But you stare at it, and then they start coming out. It's crazy. So then I said, why don't we just make the whole thing into a monarch butterfly enclosure type thing? We got some of the toughest guys you've ever seen working out there in the field. The next thing you know, they're saying, when are you going to release the butterflies? The day we did their big release party, probably over a hundred people come to watch us.
HOCH: We thought there'd be a flurry of...
LAHR: (Laughter).
HOCH: ...Butterflies that just explode, but...
LAHR: (Laughter).
HOCH: ...They do not do that. They're, like, more cautious. People came down. We're like, if you want to let one get on your finger, and then it's the most delicate touch of those little legs. And there was such joy and so many smiles. That next year, we had 120 monarchs. And then last year we had 350 monarchs. And this year, we're hoping for 600 plus.
LAHR: So what is it you want to take away from the job when you leave?
HOCH: That I cared about the people. I know the job. That's why we're here. But I think getting something done is not the point of living. And we will all be transformed, those who worked on this project. We can look at that transformation that butterflies go through from an egg to a caterpillar to that chrysalis and then just finally emerging as this very different thing is beautiful.
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MARTIN: Ingrid Hoch and Brian Lahr for StoryCorps in San Diego. Monarch butterflies are emerging from their garden now, and there's no plan to remove the butterfly enclosure once the airport terminal project is complete, scheduled for 2028. Their conversation is archived at the Library of Congress. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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