Pollinator Education Resources
The Ventura County Resource Conservation District and Oak Park Unified School District partnered together to expand monarch butterfly habitat in Ventura County as well as increase public and youth education on the benefits and conservation needs of native pollinator species.
With funding from the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy through Prop 68 as well as funding from US Fish and Wildlife, VCRCD and OPUSD are able to create 2 acres of monarch butterfly breeding habitat, create designated Monarch Waystations, and expand the pollinator education opportunities for all residents in the community.
This project expands on the VCRD’s Monarch and Pollinator Fly-Away Network. To learn more visit our Pollinator webpage
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Use the tabs below to learn more about pollinators and how to get involved.
Oak Park Unified School District is a high performing public K-12 school district located in Oak Park, an unincorporated community in south Ventura County on the border with Los Angeles County, nestled between the cities of Agoura Hills, Westlake Village, and Thousand Oaks. All of the district’s schools are California Gold Ribbon schools and have been nationally recognized as Blue Ribbon schools. The district has also been recognized as a national Green Ribbon school district for its focus on environmentally progressive policies and practices.Â
The native plants used at VCRCD’s monarch restoration sites are carefully selected, taking into account native plant ranges, bloom times, and water needs. The OPUSD sites feature early- and late-blooming perennials of most importance for pollinators, especially monarch butterflies as they migrate. Â
Three schools in the Oak Park School District, Oak Park High School, Red Oak Elementary, and Oak Hills Elementary have set aside 7 pieces of land to restore for monarchs and other pollinators. All OPUSD project sites will be certified as Monarch Waystations to show that they are contributing to monarch conservation on a larger, ecoregional scale. This is accomplished using the Monarch Watch website (https://monarchwatch.org/waystations/). Â
California is home to a wide range of pollinators. Use the links below to learn about several types of pollinators.
Monarch butterflies follow a unqiue migration journey. Their migration and biology makes them vulnerable to several threats. Learn more with the collection of links below.
Subscribe to Monarch Alerts
VCRCD has launched a new email subscription service called Monarch and Pollinator Alerts. Joining Monarch Alerts will put you on our growing email list to learn about local efforts to conserve pollinator species found in Ventura County. Subscribers will also receive information on local monarch migrations and other seasonal information. Monarch volunteer planting days will also be shared through Monarch Alerts.
Milkweed Mapper
This project is part of a collaborative effort to map and better understand monarch butterflies and their host plants across the Western U.S. Data compiled through this project will improve our understanding of the distribution and phenology of monarchs and milkweeds, identify important breeding areas, and help us better understand monarch conservation needs. Some of the key research questions that these data will help us answer include
Create a Monarch Waystation
To offset the loss of milkweeds and nectar sources we need to create, conserve, and protect monarch butterfly habitats. You can help by creating "Monarch Waystations" (monarch habitats) in home gardens, at schools, businesses, parks, zoos, nature centers, along roadsides, and on other unused plots of land. Creating a Monarch Waystation can be as simple as adding milkweeds and nectar sources to existing gardens or maintaining natural habitats with milkweeds. No effort is too small to have a positive impact
Overwintering Counts
Volunteers for the Western Monarch Count (WMC) have been collecting data since 1997 to improve our understanding of overwintering monarchs in the West. The growing dataset has been utilized to inspire and inform numerous conservation and stewardship measures that support this beloved butterfly and its habitat. As a volunteer for the WMC, you will have the opportunity to contribute to this legacy while surveying one or more western monarch overwintering sites during the Thanksgiving Count and New Year’s Count monitoring periods.
Integrated Monarch Monitoring Program
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. This information is vital to shaping our understanding of how monarchs interact with their environment, documenting conservation efforts, and tracking the population and its habitat as they change over time. This programs offers training resources to help citizen scientists monitor monarch butterflies.
Monarch Larva Monitoring Project
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
Converting a part of your yard to pollinator habitat requires some planning and forethought. Below is a collection of links to various guides and plant lists meant to help streamline the learning process.
Gardening Tips
- Where to Buy Native Plants
- Installing Native Plants Video Guide
- Caring for Native Plants Year Round Video Guide
- CalScape Gardening Guide
- Pollinator Safe Gardening Tips
- Protecting Pollinators at Home Through Smarter Pesticide Use
- Comparison of Organic Pesticides
- Guidance on Installing Hedgerows for Pollinators
- Gardening for Bumble Bees in the Autumn
Why Protect Pollinators
PBS: Power of Pollinators
Overwintering Sites in California
Life Cycle of a Monarch Butterfly
Monarch Parasites and Milkweed
Native Bees of California
Bumble Bee Conservation
Xerces: Bring Back Pollinators
Providing Nesting Habitat for Bees
Managing Pests While Protecting Pollinators
Monarch Habitat in California
Western Butterflies
Conserving California Bees
Brilliant Bees, Classroom Lesson
Monarch Butterfly Natural History
Below is a collection of some of our favorite pollinator lesson plans. Most are geared towards elementary school students but may be modified for older students. We also encourage high school teachers to consider utilizing the community science resources listed under the “Get Involved” tab on this page as well as the collection of videos under “Video Library.”Â
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.
Xerces Society: X Kid
The Xerces Society has released an activity book to help children discover the wondrous world of invertebrates. Follow Blue the butterfly, complete fun activities, submit a survey, and get a badge! X Kids was designed for children in grades 4- 5 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.
Climate Change and Monarchs Unit
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. Students analyze data of monarch migration patterns and temperature. They use a simulation and develop models to understand temperature.
WWF Monarch Lesson Plans
The World Wildlife Federation has released a monarch toolkit that provides lesson plans and activities over a range of monarch related topics. Best suited for 3rd to 5th graders
Cal Academy: Flowers Seeking Pollinators Lesson Plan
In this activity, 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 Tree: Schools and Pollinators
Project Learning has compiled a list of possible projects that school teachers can lead to teach students about local pollinators and play a role in pollinator conservation.
Create a Model Flower
In this activity, students engineer a model of a flower to test different materials’ ability to pollinate another flower. In teams of two, students use the engineering design process to create a model of a flower out of construction paper and then test different materials by measuring and recording how much pollen is transferred. While discovering the most efficient material, students determine how the information they gain can help bees pollinate and they better understand the importance of bee conservation. Designed for grade 2 but can be adapted for older grades.