“The Monarch Flyway Network is a partnership between the US Forest Service International Programs and the University of Minnesota Monarch Lab. It brings together teachers, non-formal science educators, and scientists to study monarchs and build lasting collaborations along the monarchs’ migration flyway route to Mexico. A key goal of the Monarch Flyway Network is to promote a standards- and inquiry-based approach to science, by encouraging and supporting ongoing engagement in conservation and research activities.

Network members study monarch biology and ecology, engage in citizen monitoring programs (the Monarch Larva Monitoring Project, tagging, Journey North, and Monarch Health), study the plants and animals with which monarchs interact in the wild, and create schoolyard habitats to support monarchs and other pollinators. These activities are supported during an intensive summer workshop, followed by ongoing communication and networking” (Monarch Lab 2015).

“In its first five years, the North American Monarch Institute was an effective collaboration between the US Forest Service and the University of Minnesota to promote monarch education and monarch conservation practices. These monarch habitats and experts are located across the United States. North American Monarch Institutes have now been held in six different cities across the nation. Communities of educators in St. Paul, MN, Chicago, IL, Washington, DC, Atlanta, GA, Milwaukee, WI, and Denver, CO engaged in rigorous lessons and activities that promoted better understanding of science skills, monarch biology, citizen science, and schoolyard ecology. Bolstering the Monarch Flyway Network with experienced educators will ensure that NAMI concepts will continue to empower students and communities to engage in monarch education and conservation” (Monarch Lab 2015; Bunney 2016).

• University of Minnesota Monarch Lab. 2015. North American Monarch Institute. http://monarchlab.org/education-and-gardening/workshops/north-american-monarch-institute/.
• Katie-Lyn Bunney. 2016. North American Monarch Institute, Coordinator. Personal communication.

Keywords: gardening, teachers