MBF is a partner of the Monarch Joint Venture and has supported its general operations since 2016. In the midst of dropping numbers for both the eastern and western monarch populations, the work of the MJV and its partners to increase and restore habitat is crucial. 2019 goals included restoring habitat, educating to inspire conservation action, and advancing science efforts.
Throughout 2019, the MJV partnered to provide professional development for 78 educators, reached more than 2,000 people at outreach events, and offered multiple webinars to hundreds of participants. Additionally, 180 people collected milkweed, nectar plant, and monarch data from sites in more than 23 states through the MJV’s Integrated Monarch Monitoring Program. This data is vital to shaping our understanding of how monarchs interact with their environment. In collaboration with partners, the MJV also developed tools to aid roadside managers in assessing and prioritizing pollinator habitats on transportation lands. The impact of monarch conservation is strengthened by the MJV’s focus on building partnerships and promoting collaborations. Working with more than 90 partners across the United States, the MJV annually prepares the Monarch Conservation Implementation Plan to collaboratively conserve the monarch migration.
During 2018, MBF partially funded two Monarch Joint Venture (MJV) programs: the “Integrated Monarch Monitoring Program” (IMMP) and the “Educational Resources for Teachers to Accelerate Monarch Recovery”, implemented with the Sand County Foundation (SCF), an MJV partner organization. In 2018, MJV kicked off widespread implementation of the IMMP Program, a national initiative to monitor monarch populations and habitat. Additionally, with financial support from MBF, MJV supported SCF and Earth Partnership at the University of Wisconsin to develop the Pollinator Habitat Curriculum Guide released in 2018. The guide aligns with Common Core and Next Generation Science standards, and provides activities for establishing, managing, and monitoring prairie habitat for monarch butterflies, other insect pollinators and grassland birds.
Wendy Caldwell, Monarch Joint Venture Director said it best, “From citizen science to habitat education resources for teachers, MBF’s support is making a difference for monarchs.”