Note: This project has been updated. See "2026 Update" below.
Members of Red Monarca (the Monarch Network) have identified community screenings as a valuable tool to strengthen monarch habitat conservation and local community development. With support from MBF, the Monarch Network has developed audiovisual materials on the conservation of ecosystems within the monarch biosphere reserve region, as well as local culture and good environmental practices. Many of these materials (i.e., documentaries, short films, and series) can be found on the Red Monarca website here.
Red Monarca also proposed screening these materials in rural communities along the monarch butterfly’s migratory route in Mexico, seeking to raise awareness about the importance of protecting the butterfly and its habitat and promote community dialogue about the topics. Attendees of these screenings are expected to adopt a positive attitude towards the conservation of local ecosystems, especially forests, water, and biodiversity, strengthening community participation and commitment to sustainable practices.
Eighteen traveling screenings have been scheduled for 2025-2026.
Proposed audiovisual materials include:
- The Mazahua Taco, Between Green Gold and the Monarch (short film)
- Biodiversity Beyond the Monarch (short film)
- Jñatrjo: Simple Words – Mazahua Poems of Michoacán (short film)
- Monarch Butterfly and Climate Change (series of 3 clips)
- Monarchs, Parasites and Flowers (short film)
- Forest Fire Fighters in Region VII of Michoacán (short film)
- COVID and the Monarch (4-episode series)
- Guardians of Maize (Corn) (5-episode series)
2026 Update
Within the framework of Earth Day (April 22), Alternare A.C., in collaboration with Ambiente CieloRojo and with the support of the Monarch Butterfly Fund, implemented the first Biodivercine Monarca 2026 tour, carrying out six screenings in four middle and high schools located in communities of the Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve in Michoacán and the State of Mexico.
The initiative aimed to strengthen environmental education and awareness about the conservation of the monarch butterfly, through community cinema focused on three thematic axes: climate change, local biodiversity, and sustainable productive projects.
