Tiny butterflies connect children with nature

Do you have monarch butterfly questions? Because we have answers! To celebrate Monarch Butterfly Week (May 5-9) we will host a Google Hangout with monarch experts.  Send your questions to [email protected] today, and be sure to tune in for our live Hangout on Thursday, May 8 at 1:30 p.m. EST to get your answers! 
In 2001, 18 teachers in New Jersey completed a workshop called Teaching and Learning with Monarch Butterflies. Today, thousands of educators on both sides of the border (myself included, now!) have completed that workshop and have been certified officially by the Monarch Teacher Network.

I attended the first Monarch Teacher Network of Canada workshop of 2014, hosted by the Niagara Butterfly Conservatory in Niagara Falls, ON. It brought together teachers, naturalists and butterfly enthusiasts from both coasts and the surrounding school districts. This is where I met Laurel Merriam, an award-winning teacher with the Kawartha Pine Ridge District School Board and enthusiastic, knowledgeable and long-time Monarch Teacher Network volunteer. Laurel was excited to learn about WWF’s Schools for a Living Planet education initiative and has since joined our program.

For years, Laurel has brought monarch caterpillars into her classroom and used them to teach math, language, art, music, science, social studies, history and geography to her young students. In 2010, the Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario (EFTO) awarded Laurel and four colleagues the Special Projects in Science and Technology Award to recognize her success engaging students with science and nature through monarch butterflies. We are inspired by teachers like Laurel who bring a wealth of knowledge on making science fun and exciting in the classroom and are excited to have her as a new member of our Schools for a Living Planet program.

Laurel will be part of the expert panel for our Google Hangout “The Flight of the Monarch Butterflies” (Thursday, May 8 at 1:30pm ET / 10:30am PT), a live conversation with monarch experts. She will be talking about some of the best uses of WWF’s Schools for a Living Planet resources and telling stories about monarch butterflies in the classroom. Be sure to tune in and email your questions for Laurel or any of our experts to [email protected] in advance.

PS. If you’re interested in becoming a certified Monarch Teacher, there are six more workshops happening across Canada this summer! Check out the list of dates and locations here and get ready to learn how to bring the magical monarch story to life for your students.
WWF’s Schools for a Living Planet connects educators and students of all ages to WWF’s conservation work. Join the S4LP community and learn how you can inspire your classrooms and classmates to build a future in which humans live in harmony with nature.