Monarch Magic

Tomorrow morning, I will leave bright and early to head down to Cape May Point. I will be meeting up with my friends in the
Monarch Teacher Network
, for the semi-annual Teachers for Biodiversity meeting. While this may sound odd for a Language Arts teacher, I raise monarchs with my class every fall. My classroom theme is “Journeys”, as my students are on the final leg of their journey to middle school. They also get the chance to emerge every morning, as a new person. Just like our caterpillars.

At 7am, I will begin the 2 hr drive to Cape May. As Erik, the director, states: “Each year the Teachers for Biodiversity group (a network we support) conducts two, one-day events for somewhere in …. for teachers and their friends/families, the Spring and Fall Gatherings. Because it seems likely this fall will be the best migration of monarch butterflies in over a decade… the 2007 Fall Gathering will be held at Cape May Point on Saturday, September 22… THE PEAK period for monarch migration in NJ with lots of hawk and songbird migration as well. The 2007 Fall Gathering offers the chance to explore Cape May, a world-famous migration site… and to socialize/share knowledge with people who share the same passions… ”

I can not wait for tomorrow. I have never been anywhere that is home to thousands of monarchs at once. I am hoping to see more monarchs than I ever have before. I also hope to see a monarch roost. A roost is when many monarchs (sometimes hundreds!) choose a tree, fence, or other safe area to rest or stay out of bad weather. When monarchs are migrating, they also rest in trees as part of a roost. I have never been lucky enough to see this and hope I can tomorrow!

I am sure I will a ton of pictures tomorrow, and I will be sure to post them!