60.0°,
A Few Clouds Helping the mighty Monarch thrive
Third graders at Watson Elementary tried their hands at entomology this past Friday as part of a project to “Save the Monarch.”
The program, developed by Rockville Centre resident and retired elementary school principal Thomas Hodge, runs on a two-year cycle, and has been a part of third-grade curriculum at Watson for the past three years.
Students begin the first year of the program by learning about the life of the monarch butterfly in contemporary America — its life cycle and eating habits, the part it plays in the balancing of ecosystems, migratory patterns, and the destruction of its natural habitat and only source of food, milkweed. The children plant milkweed seeds in the classroom, and transplant the seedlings in the garden on the west side of the school each year when spring arrives.
The next fall, students observe the early stages in the monarch’s life cycle, taking note of eggs laid by migrating monarchs and watching caterpillars munch on milkweed leaves and, finally, spin their chrysalises. They also raise monarchs in the classroom, tagging the butterflies when they hatch so that researchers at the University of Kansas can monitor migration patterns.
This year’s project included an expansion of the garden, funded by donations from Astoria Bank and filled with annuals provided by the Village Nursery of Freeport and Gunther Nursery of Oceanside, and Canterbury Landscapers managed the expansion of the garden. A certified Monarch Way Station was also donated by the University of Kansas.
