Make Way for Monarchs!

Pre-K3 students exploring the STJ Monarch Waystation.

We have exciting news at the school garden- it makes our hearts flutter! Several months ago, we planted milkweed in the Kindergarten bed of the community garden. Milkweed plants are vital to the life cycle of butterflies, as they produce a necessary nectar that these insects need for reproduction. Each fall, hundreds of millions of monarch butterflies migrate from the United States and Canada to central Mexico. In order to make this long journey, the butterflies have to actually lay eggs along the way. A special habitat is needed for the amazing metamorphosis process to happen successfully. These environments are called “Monarch Waystations.”

Mrs. Elizabeth Harber, Saint James Community Garden Coordinator, has been carefully monitoring our school’s Waystation and discovered some very exciting activity. She, along with one of our Pre-K classes, found some caterpillars on our milkweed plants. These caterpillars were in the larva stage getting ready to build a cocoon. A few days later, she found two cocoons in the pupa stage, called chrysalises. We are now waiting for these to emerge into beautiful Monarchs! Many of our elementary students have been following along and studying the lifecycle of butterflies. Saint James School is excited to be part of the the great monarch migration!