We’re thrilled to announce that Harambee Elementary School, located in Maplewood, Minnesota, has officially joined the Monarch Joint Venture partnership, taking another step in the school’s commitment to environmental education, protection, and collaboration.
Harambee Elementary is located on a 28-acre site in the Twin Cities’ East Metro that includes a forest, wetlands, a pond, a nature play area, and several gardens. The school has been intentional about including nectar plants and milkweed for monarchs and other pollinators when creating habitat on the school’s campus, which provides strong educational opportunities for students in addition to its benefits for the local wildlife, like the school’s mascot, the Mighty Monarch.
Several Harambee staff members have participated in Monarch Joint Venture professional development opportunities, including the North American Monarch Institute. Staff have seen the value in these opportunities and the connections forged, and we’re looking forward to opportunities for future connection and collaboration with Harambee Elementary School now as an official MJV partner.
The school hopes to continue long-term as a school with environmental education at its heart. Students at the school from kindergarten to sixth grade participate in environmentally based learning with an environmental science specialist teacher and their classroom teachers, and participate in community science programs and research opportunities. Monarch butterflies are a key theme for learning across grade levels and a vehicle for integrating cultural and artistic connections.
For more information about Harambee Elementary School, please visit https://harambee.isd623.org/.
The Monarch Joint Venture is a 501c3 nonprofit organization and a national partner network of federal and state agencies, non-governmental organizations, businesses, and academic programs working together to conserve the monarch butterfly migration. The content in this article does not necessarily reflect the positions of all Monarch Joint Venture partners. Photo courtesy of Jenny Eckman, Harambee Elementary School.