Optimist Club Learns about Monarch Butterflies

Five students from SPHS talked with the SP Optimist Club on November 13 about their involvement in the Monarch Butterfly Project this past summer.  They were Hannah Accola, Camdyn Kastalitz, Caity Kinnamon and Avery Leigh.  Their teacher, Patrick Leigh, accompanied them and was the overseer of their work.  Each week this past summer they monitored Monarch butterflies at Moely Prairie.  All research went to the Monarch Joint Venture program.  The students felt it was a great opportunity to learn about the prairie ecosystem. They shared about the life cycle of the Monarch and especially about the migration from Mexico to Wisconsin. They conducted four surveys ranging from Blooming Plant and Milkweed Availability (availability of food), an Eggs and Larvae survey (counted milkweed and types of milkweed on which eggs and larvae were found), Adult Monarch survey (counted the number they saw and what they were doing) and Monarch Survival and Parasitism (how many died and if they died of parasites).  Amy Chamberlain, of the Friends of Moely Prairie, shared that the students donated over 120 hours and were recognized by the Monarch Project.  They collected more data from a single location in Wisconsin than any other researchers and she presented them with certificates of this accomplishment.  Left to right with their Optimist certificates of appreciation and their certificates from the Monarch Butterfly Project are Caity Kinnamon, Camdyn Kastalitz, Avery Leigh, Hannah Accola and Amy Chamberlain, board member of the Friends of Moely Prairie where their research was conducted. 

The Sauk Prairie Optimist Club meets every Wednesday, the first Wednesday at noon at the Blue Spoon Café and the remaining Wednesdays at 7 a.m. at the Blue Spoon Café.  Everyone Welcome!