CALLING ALL SCHOOLS! GET INVOLVED IN RUNNING FOR MONARCH BUTTERFLIES!
ABOUT THE MINI MONARCH ULTRA PROGRAM: The Monarch Ultra is partnering with Bee City Canada to get schools involved in raising awareness of the need to protect monarchs and other species at risk. Running to raise awareness is a fun and healthy way to get youth outdoors and connect children with nature. Once a school registers for the Mini Monarch Ultra Program, students can start running anytime this year. We encourage schools to keep track of the kilometres that the students run or walk as we'll be tallying up all the kilometres across the province, aiming for a total of 4,300km - the total distance monarch butterflies travel during their fall migration. Stay tuned for more information!
PLANT A POLLINATOR GARDEN! Why not start or expand a garden for pollinators with your students? You can make your schoolyard a pollinator paradise by creating a pollinator garden. Participating schools in the Mini-Monarch Ultra Program will receive educational materials including Carol Pasternak's book How to Raise Monarch Butterflies. Monarch Nation has provided resources on how to start pollinator gardens available here: Digging It Pollinator Garden.
SHARE YOUR ACTIONS WITH OTHERS! Once schools register for the program, make sure to post your pictures and stories on our Facebook site. Let's get schools across the province excited to run for monarch butterflies and to take action to protect pollinator species! Communities can help restore declining butterfly and bee populations by planting flower patches in urban gardens and green spaces. Edmison Heights Public School was the first school to launch a Mini-Monarch Ultra campaign in 2019, read about their inspiring story here.
HOW TO PARTICIPATE: 1. Register your school through the online form below. 2. Pick dates between April-June to start running. 3. Set aside time to run with your students each week - at lunch times, after school, etc. 4. Keep a tally of the distances run by each student, and the total for your school. 5. Report your total tally to Monarch Ultra and contribute to the national total! 6. Build a pollinator garden with your students this spring or fall. 7. Share your actions with others, and encourage them to participate! *Interested in learning more with this program? Send us an email at [email protected].
