Each year, student "Butterfly Biologists" harvest the eggs from the butterfly garden in front of the school and care for every stage in the life cycle of the Monarch – from egg to caterpillar; caterpillar to chrysalis – until the butterfly emerges.
All the sixth-grade students at Eugene take on the project. The students are responsible for feeding the butterflies and cleaning the containers they’re in.
“It’s pretty fun and educational,” said Olivia Seidlitz, a student at Eugene Field.
Not only are the students helping to increase the population of Monarch butterflies but they’re also doing research to figure out why the species is threatened.
From learning about different parasites to learning about all the predators that are a threat to the butterflies.
AJ Stewart and Elaina Biswell have enjoyed the research aspect of the project. They’re currently researching to see if they have discovered a new monarch disease.
“Being able to research and learn about something you didn’t know about before has been my favorite part,” said AJ.
The students are also all assigned to a class where the teach the younger grades how to take of butterflies and what they’ve learned.
After weeks of hard work, the students will release the butterflies into the open.
