Visitors got to watch butterflies spread their wings and learn about the fluttering insect at the UT Arboretum's Butterfly Festival on Saturday morning.
Event organizers say the event was intended to help people better understand and appreciate butterflies and other insects.
"We're really excited about helping people understand butterflies, love butterflies, because the monarch's kind of a poster child for all insects," UT Arboretum Education Coordinator Michelle Campanis said.
The event included educational talks, crafts and a display from the UT Insect Zoo, a traveling insect exhibit that displays insects and arachnids from Tennessee and around the world.
At noon, the arboretum released native butterflies into the wild.
Campanis said the butterflies they released have the correct genetic makeup for the area. She said that another purpose of the event was to educate people on using native plants in landscaping, a small act that can help the populations of butterflies and other pollinators.
"We want to release and help the butterflies," Campanis said. "But this is really an educational event to educate people about what they can do in their home landscape, in their business, to really think about using native plants...because every person makes a difference."