Moth Ball
Explore the night-flying relatives of monarchs and other butterflies during an evening of mothing with MJV at our Prairie Oaks campus! We’ll explore the differences between moths and butterflies, learn various ways to attract and collect moths, identify different groups of moths, and discover the important roles moths play in our ecosystem. We’ll also collect data through iNaturalist to help us understand the wildlife at Prairie Oaks better!
This program is family-friendly, but please note that it takes place after dark.
Date: July 11, 2025 (this event will be rescheduled in the case of inclement weather)
Time: 8:30 PM - 11:00 PM
Cost: Adults and youth (12 and over) - $10
Kids (under 12) - $5 (must be accompanied by an adult over 18)
Family (up to 2 adults and 2 kids) - $25 (each additional child $3)
Registration coming soon!
Community Science Trainings
Monarch Larva Monitoring Project
Be a community scientist with the Monarch Larva Monitoring Project (MLMP)! The MLMP team from MJV and the UW-Madison Arboretum co-lead virtual one-day training on how to collect data that contributes to our knowledge about the monarch population. Participants learn about monarch biology, monitoring procedures, and data entry protocols and are able to ask monarch biologists their questions about monarchs and monitoring.
Live interactive MLMP training sessions are typically held in the spring and early summer each year. You are welcome to take the trainings below regardless of your location.
2025 Live Interactive Training:
- COMPLETED West: January 29, 2025
- COMPLETED South: February 26, 2025
- North: May 7, 2025
2025 In-Person Training:
If you'd like a self-paced course, you can sign up for the online MLMP course offered at the Monarch NECTAR Hub.
Reach out to info@mlmp.org if you have any questions about community science training.
Butterfly Days
Details coming soon, but save the date - August 23rd, 2025 at 1100 W. South Street, Belle Plaine, MN.