Monarchs and More

Monarchs and MoreInquiry based activities for PUSD students

Milkweed- the monarch larvae’ssole sustenance.

“A Cooperative Effort to Generate and Share Ecological Knowledge”

Citizen ScienceCitizen Science:

involves the public in organized scientific research

is often used in conservation, applied ecology and natural resource management

is an important tool in basic ecological research

Outreach/Dissemination Goal #1

Understand local ecosystems and basic ecological principles

Understand the scientific process

Understand policy and conservation applications of ecological data

Increased scientific literacyIncreased scientific literacy

Outreach/Dissemination Goal #2

Exhibit for participating nature centers

Website Annual newsletter

conveying project findings, background information, links to other projects, etc.

Dissemination to participants and communityDissemination to participants and community

Outreach/Dissemination Goal #3

MLMP and extended research

Education for non-volunteer audience: data utilization, project findings

Research/science education program for nature centersResearch/science education program for nature centers

Outreach/Dissemination Goal #4

K-12 Involvement

Participation in MLMP via school/teacher

Via ISE (visits to nature centers, summer involvement)

Data/curriculum utilization

Link formal education community, ISE and Link formal education community, ISE and scientistsscientists

University of Minnesota

•Training, Resources, Protocol Provide training materials Provide hands-on practice with monitoring and larva

ID Directions for training and recruiting Develop protocol

•Project communication and support Newsletter, website, networking (naturalists and

volunteers) Nature center and site displays Online support and field questions

•Data analysis and dissemination

•Evaluation

Project Activities Goal #1

Provide baseline data on monarch Provide baseline data on monarch population biology for educators, population biology for educators, scientists, policy makers, and the publicscientists, policy makers, and the public

Basic distribution and abundance data

Temporal and spatial comparisons

Importance of various monarch habitats

Effects of environmental perturbations

Population dynamics (e.g. predation, timing of mortality)

Project Activities Goal #2

Provide trainer and volunteer supportProvide trainer and volunteer support

Encourage and facilitate communication

Retain volunteers

Disseminate findings

Make data collection and entry easy and meaningful On-line tutorial

Data sheets and directions

Assuring quality data

Citizen Scientist Involvementhttp://www.mlmp.org

http://www.learner.org/jnorth/monarch/index.html

Monarchs and MoreInquiry & Arthopod based curriculumSchoolyard Ecology ExplorationsInquiry based curriculum

Interdisciplinary, inquiry based supplement to classroom instruction.

Life science, math, reading, writing, art, and social studies

Teaches scientific method related to life cycle and ecology of monarch butterflies and other insects.

Utilizes schoolyard exploration /butterfly friendly garden.

The World of Monarch

Butterflies

Female

Male

Fall Migration

Spring Migration

Monarch Ecology

• Host plants

• Other insects that eat host plants

• Predators

• Nectar plants

• Abiotic conditions (temperature, precipitation, etc.)