Celebrating Schools for National Wildlife Week: Monarch Butterflies in Texas

Our final post in our series celebrating National Wildlife Week takes us to Texas, where students and teachers have been busy addressing Monarch Recovery. Monarch gardens are sprouting up on school grounds throughout the Austin and Houston Independent School Districts.

Students of all ages are eagerly working side by side with community volunteers to make an impact in the recovery effort. Teachers are not only creating monarch habitats, they are also providing a natural setting for kids to become citizen scientists while learning about their local environment. Read on for highlights of our school community members in action.

A Night in the Garden

Imagine what a team of 70 people can do in a single night! At the STEM focused Innovation Academy at Martin Middle School, students, teachers, parents and community volunteers came together and built seven gardens from the ground up. The school also hosted a successful STEAM night, to further raise awareness about monarchs in their community.

1st Grade Monarch Heroes Take Action

They may be small, but enthusiastic first graders at Piney Point Elementary have made super-sized efforts when it comes to helping the iconic monarch butterfly. They have worked hard to become a NWF Certified Schoolyard Habitat. Students not only helped design the garden, they also hosted a Garden Party for visitors to celebrate their efforts.

Along the way, students learned about the monarch butterfly’s life cycle, habitat needs and migration patterns. They also made symbolic paper butterflies and helped fundraise to purchase items for their garden.

What Can You Do to Help?

Eco-Schools USA has recently put together a suite of resources for educators who would like to address monarch recovery. From tips on creating a monarch habitat to curriculum resources, native plant guides and citizen science opportunities, we are working to provide all of our schools with the tools needed so that students around the country can work to make a difference for all pollinators.

Learn more about National Wildlife Week and how you can get involved!