We Have Exciting News!
After great success (and some necessary adjustments) following our Cache Valley 2019 Pilot Study, RAE Environmental Inc. is thrilled to announce the expansion of Western Monarch Pollinator Pathways (WMPP) across the state of Utah! Starting spring 2020, WMPP will launch our state-wide program to assist Utah elementary schools in the establishment of monarch sanctuary habitats, effectively paving a pathway of connectivity along monarch migration routes. In this united effort, we will continue to lead our students and communities by emphasizing the importance of pollinators in our ecosystems and provide much needed outreach opportunities to fuel our next generation of environmental stewards.
Why elementary schools? While parts of Utah are densely populated urban development is focused in two major areas of the state; the Wasatch Front in north central Utah, and Washington Country in southern Utah. This leaves much of the remaining countryside sparsely populated with smaller, remote towns dispersed primarily along major roadways. Despite low populations two things are dependably found within these rural areas: 1. Local Post Offices; 2. Elementary Schools. Establishing monarch habitats on elementary school grounds gives us the unique opportunity to not only inspire a sense of local stewardship in our youngest generation, but advance their scientific and agricultural learning opportunities while instilling a sense of pride in their state and local communities. Additionally (given their geographic nature) establishing or enhancing habitats at these locales provides a relatively uniform distribution of functional habitat available to pollinators throughout the state. This ensures dependable host plant and nectar sources for migrating populations, linking corridors between Utah’s breeding grounds to sacred overwintering habitats.
In light of the recent 2019 Thanksgiving Count Data and Xerces Society’s desperate Call To Action, it has become apparent that the time to act is now. We must pull together and help protect what is left of our western monarch population to ensure that the awe-inspiring migration continues to thrive, benefitting not just us but future generations.
Know a teacher or want to help us spread the word? Here is our a link to our School Outreach Letter, informing teachers and administrators how they can participate in our program.
Utah schools, please help us