Monarchs have an incredible story to tell. They teach kids and adults alike about the importance of conservation. Equipped with the right tools, anyone and everyone can inspire others to take conservation actions. Our Communications Specialist, Cora, and staff from MJV partner the Monarch Lab, recently shared the monarch story with 7th grade students in Minnesota. Cora reflects on the impact it had on the students here:
Have you ever seen a child witness a monarch eclose, or watched their faces when they learn that monarchs fly up to 3000 miles in the fall, having never been to Mexico before? Last week, I had the opportunity to visit a 7th grade class and share the story of the monarch migration with them. I got to watch a monarch pupate with them, and see how they were awestruck by the metamorphosis. It was uplifting to experience how fascinated they were with monarchs and their migration. They asked dozens of smart questions and were curious about science in a way not every 12-year-old is these days.
It isn’t just children that share these expressions when monarchs are involved; countless adults and children across North America are inspired to care about nature and the environment through the monarch story.
During the fall migration is a great time to educate your community about monarchs and their epic journey. The good news is that our website provides an abundance of resources to use in your outreach, so you can motivate your community to take action for monarchs too!
A User-Guide to Community Monarch Outreach
Download ready-to-use presentations:
In the 7th grade class last week, students got presentations on monarch biology, migration and conservation, and you can access presentations like these. They’re free to download and use at your next education event. Visit our Educate Others page to access presentations for different age levels on Google Drive.
Print and share monarch conservation handouts:
Looking for some take home information to share with your community at an event or after a presentation? The MJV has a comprehensive handout series that you download and print as many as you need. View and download the handouts here. Many additional resources from our partners are compiled here as well.
Watch and share the Monarch Conservation Webinar Series, archived or live:
The MJV has partnered with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s National Conservation Training Center to develop a series of webinars covering many aspects of monarch biology, monitoring, and conservation, and they are all archived online for your viewing pleasure. If you’re looking to educate a youth audience or get an example youth presentation, you’re in luck. The next Monarch Conservation Webinar will be Meet the Monarchs!, an interactive youth directed webinar with Dr. Karen Oberhauser, a scientist from the University of Minnesota, and Cathy Downs, a natural science educator from central Texas, on October 4th at 2 PM ET. Sign up now to catch this exciting webinar, and see previous webinars here.
Access a wide range of education resources:
The 7th graders also played ‘the Monarch Migration Game’. This game can be adapted for varying ages, and simulates the challenges of migration while getting kids outside and moving. You can find links to this and other activities, as well as monarch curriculum, outreach brochures and other diverse education resources by selecting the ‘Monarch Education’ category of our Resources page.
Restoring the monarch population is going to take an all hands on deck approach, from students to retirees, to farmers and ranchers and backyard gardeners. You can help spread this message by sharing the monarch story with your community, and we’re here to help.
The Monarch Joint Venture is a national partnership of federal and state agencies, non-governmental organizations, 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. Header photo by Nicole Hamilton.