A story which ran in yesterday’s Express provided an update on the plight of the monarch butterfly — a particularly beloved and notable species for many, many people.

Two key takeaways from that story: eastern monarchs face a 57 to 74 percent chance of extinction by 2080, and eastern monarchs have seen a 59 percent decrease in their occupied overwintering space from the previous year, which is now down to just 2.2 acres.

Some readers have houses that sit on more acreage than that.

Imagine the entire overwintering population of eastern monarchs fitting in your backyard.

Increasingly, that is the reality.

The causes are many — and, admittedly, the old adage of planting milkweed only goes so far.

There are over 16,000 endangered species and 38,500 threatened species at present on Earth, according to the International Union for the Conservation of Nature.

Few have the goodwill enjoyed by monarchs — while conservationists the world over work tirelessly to preserve what of nature they can manage, most species don’t also have grassroots efforts to provide backyard habitat.

We all want to believe that we can make a difference.

The hard truth is that the systems at work devastating our environment cannot be stopped by any one person’s efforts.

It is, however, a human virtue to try anyway — and, when enough of us try all at once, sometimes we can manage to move the needle.

If you have any space for plants, maybe consider curling up with a pencil and some scratch paper this winter, and come up with a plan for some flowers, milkweed and maybe a small fountain or bird bath.

You don’t need a big yard to contribute — even if you only have a balcony, that is enough room for some potted flowers and a bubbler.

Of course, we would advocate for planting native species for a variety of reasons, not the least of which being that they are resilient plants meant for our local environment, which means they need very little attention and, once established, can survive even the most dedicated of black thumbs.

There are an abundance of local resources, such as the Conservation District and the Master Gardeners, who can point you in the right direction — and there are a number of online tools, as well, such as the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center, the National Wildlife Foundation and the Xerces Society.

The worst case scenario is that you don’t manage to help the monarch — but, you may be able to help native bees, other butterflies and moths, and, if nothing else, you’ll have something pretty to look at.

The increasing urbanization of our cities and suburbian sprawl will do little to help conservation efforts. It falls to those of us in rural climates, those of us who pride ourselves on our natural resources, to do what we can to stem the bleeding as best we can.

We are the stewards and caretakers of this world — the only world that we have.

It’s time we started acting like it.