Ventura County
Ventura County
California is home to a wide range of pollinators! Use the links below to learn about several types of pollinators.
Monarch butterflies follow a unique migration journey. Their migration and biology make them vulnerable to several threats. Learn more with the collection of links below.
Below is a collection of some of our favorite pollinator lesson plans and videos. Most are geared towards elementary school students but may be modified for older students.
Please note that captive breeding of monarch butterflies is illegal without a proper permit, see link below. To prevent spreading disease and mishandling caterpillars we recommend creating an outdoor butterfly garden to observe pollinators in a natural setting.
Read aboutCaptive Breeding, Disease Spread, and Education Alternatives.
The Xerces Society released an activity book to help children discover the world of invertebrates. Follow Blue the butterfly, complete fun activities, submit a survey, and get a badge! Designed for children in grades 4- 5, X Kid and can be done individually, in a classroom, or in a group. The activity book is available in English and Spanish and does not require any materials beyond what can be found at home.
In this unit, students learn that monarch butterflies are migrating later each year and that their populations are declining. As students progress through the unit, they connect these changes to human activities, analyze data of monarch migration patterns and temperature, and use a simulation to develop models to understand temperature.
Students learn about plant reproduction and use real data to construct explanations about which flowers are the most attractive to different pollinators. Grade levels 2nd-7th
Project Learning compiled a list of possible projects that can teach students about local pollinators and allow them to play a role in pollinator conservation.
Students engineer a model of a flower to test different materials’ ability to pollinate another flower. Designed for grade 2 but can be adapted for older grades.
There are a variety of ways to get involved with pollinator work! Click the images below to learn more.
Join VCRCD Monarch Alerts to learn about local efforts to conserve pollinator species in Ventura County, receive information on local monarch migrations, and register for monarch volunteer planting days.
The Integrated Monarch Monitoring Program (IMMP) is a national program to collect milkweed, nectar plant, and monarch use data from various land-use types and regions.
Help to offset the loss of milkweeds and nectar sources, we need to create, conserve, and protect monarch butterfly habitats by creating “Monarch Waystations” in home gardens, at schools, businesses, parks, along roadsides, and more!
Volunteer for the Western Monarch Count and survey one or more western monarch overwintering sites during the Thanksgiving Count and New Year’s Count monitoring periods.
The Monarch Larva Monitoring Project is a joint MJV and University of Wisconsin–Madison Arboretum citizen science project to track monarch eggs, larvae, and milkweed throughout North America
The Monarch Milkweed Mapper Project is part of a collaborative effort to map and better understand monarch butterflies and their host plants across the Western United States.