Mary Anne Rishebarger spoke to our club about the Monarch Sister Schools Program that was created by the educational nonprofit Natural Partners to involve students in a real environmental problem: the ongoing destruction of Monarch butterflies’ habitat in the U.S. and Canada (driven by herbicide use on farms) and of their over-wintering habitat in Mexico (due to illegal logging), resulting in a precipitous decline of the Monarchs population. Through hands-on projects, students learn about the habitat, life cycle and the amazing migration of the Monarchs, while collaborating across borders on projects to restore habitat for future Monarch generations.
Mary Anne is a Rotarian from the Baltimore area and very active in promoting the importance of Common Milkweed in private and public spaces as a vital foodsource providing nectar-rich flowers to attract and feed Monarch Butterflies and leaves on which the adult butterflies lay eggs and that provide the single most important food source for emergent catterpillars. Milkweed is both home and host.
Here are links to her slide presentation, plus documents she has sent: