Monarch Butterfly Monitoring: Citizen Science in Action

This summer I am volunteering for the Nation Park Service’s Monarch Monitoring program. Every other week I meet with a small group of fellow volunteers and together we roam across an urban prairie lead by a park ranger who is a biologist. We peruse specific zones of the Coldwater Springs area looking for and counting milkweed and butterfly bush plants and monarch eggs and larvae. Different stunning prairie plants are blooming each time, and the prairie hike is beautiful.

Spotted bee balm

Bee balm

Queen of the prairie