Monarch Workshop, Train the Trainer 1

Advanced Training Opportunity: VMS Category: AT: NGO Workshops and Programs on Wildlife Conservation and Land Stewardship

Monarch Workshop, Train the Trainer 1
Big Stone Lodge, Spring, TX

Click here to register

Friday, January 25, 8:30am – 4:00pm

To bring back the monarchs –and to protect all pollinators—we need to spread the word, to talk to our neighbors, friends, and family about the importance of taking action to conserve the monarch butterfly. Through this workshop, we will help you to learn how to acquire the necessary skills to become a knowledgeable speaker on monarch butterfly topics.

This workshop is a one day course on monarch biology, ecology, and conservation. You will learn the basics of monarch habitat creation and conservation and you will leave the course with the knowledge and confidence to engage diverse groups to take action on behalf of the monarch butterfly.

What are the Topics?

• Monarch anatomy, biology, life cycle and migration.
• Monarch threats: parasites, disease, land use, and pesticides, among others.
• Milkweed ecology, nectar plants, and monarch waystations.
• Outreach tools and materials, agencies and conservation groups involved in monarch conservation activities.
• Citizen Science, communication skills, interpretation, and role play.
• How to recruit for and structure a successful workshop/presentation.

Who should attend this workshop?

The primary objective of this workshop is to train participants how to educate others about the ecological role of monarchs and the conservation actions that can be taken to help the species.

This workshop is for those who are interested in outreach and in educating the public about monarch conservation. We request that every participant agree to share the education and knowledge acquired during this workshop with others by, offering presentations or workshops.

Monarch Conservation Training certification

After the participant gives at least a one hour presentation to the general public, she/he will receive a Monarch Conservation Training certification from NWF. The participant will have many other opportunities to engage in more presentations, workshops, and other monarch conservation activities if he/she wills to do so.

Each participant will receive a USB drive loaded with a power point presentation, supporting handouts, and other resources.

Texas Master Naturalists—Some Chapters are considering this workshop as an Advanced Training; ask your Chapter’s leader.

The Trainers

Katie Boyer serves as the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Southwest Region’s Monarch Outreach Specialist. In this role, Katie coordinates monarch butterfly conservation efforts with a variety of partners and leads outreach efforts to increase awareness of monarch and pollinator decline. Katie holds a Bachelor of Science in Resource Conservation from the University of Montana and a Master of Natural Resources in Environmental Policy from Utah State University.

Carol Clark is a Texas Master Naturalist, long-time Native Plant Society of Texas member, Chair of the Bring Back the Monarchs to Texas committee of NPSOT, and a Monarch Watch Conservation Specialist. When she isn’t busy teaching others about pollinators or native plants, she enjoys looking after her own colossal Monarch Waystation and wildlife refuge in Cooke County. Carol taught the Monarch Workshop “Train the Trainer” in Fort Worth on January 2018, and she is a frequent speaker about monarch conservation in North Texas.

Jennifer Garrison is Mercer Botanic Gardens’ Education Director with an education career spanning over 21 years with such roles as teacher, writer, editor, consultant and director. Among her Monarch butterfly conservation achievements are co-authoring and awarded Bring Back the Monarchs to Texas grant proposal. This award supported the development of a Monarch Waystation at Mercer. Jennifer also helped plan and implement Mercer’s inaugural Pollinator Festival held this past October. The result of the festival was a celebration of pollinators and a greater understanding of pollinator conservation.

Melodie Hill is Mercer Botanic Gardens’ Program Coordinator. Melodie has worked in children’s education for five years, and promotes monarch and pollinator conservation through educating the public. Her educational programs at Mercer focus on outdoor education, monarchs and pollinators. Melodie helped organize Mercer’s inaugural Pollinator Festival held this past October. Melodie assisted in planning and planting Mercer’s newest Pollinator Garden after a grant was received from a Bring Back the Monarchs to Texas Grant.

Jacob Martin is Mercer Botanic Garden’s Greenhouse Manager. He has been with Mercer for four years and runs a small farm and nursery in the Houston area, Old School Produce. His commitment to collecting wild plant material helps him bring native, resilient and adaptable monarch plants to Mercer’s grant-winning monarch garden. He has provided a list encompassing monarch nectar plants and host plants for the Gulf Coast area to other parks and gardens to help become Monarch Waystations. His enthusiasm for horticulture expands to educating many volunteers with milkweed seed propagation.

Kyle Wolfe is the volunteer coordinator at Hermann Park Conservancy where he has organized pollinator garden workdays and wildflower plantings. He is a Texas Master Naturalist and Master Volunteer Entomology Specialist, as well as a member of the NPSOT and the Butterfly Enthusiasts of Southeast Texas. Kyle volunteers at the Texas Discovery Gardens Butterfly House and Insectarium in Dallas; the Houston Museum of Natural Science Butterfly Center and Hall of Entomology; and Harris County 4-H Entomology Program. He is active in monarch citizen science programs: Monarch Watch Tagging and Waystations, Project Monarch Health, and the Monarch Larva Monitoring Project.

Rebeca Quiñonez-Piñón is the Monarch Outreach Coordinator for NWF. Her goal is to ensure that Texas cities within the monarch butterfly central flyway take appropriate, effective conservation actions that will increase the monarch population. She works closely with people at different levels and backgrounds to define the best strategies to implement monarch conservation programs. She is facilitating the integration of the Texas Monarch Conservation Plan, an effort initiated by TPWD.

 Date: Friday, January 25, 2019
Time: 8:30 AM – 4:00 PM
Address:
Dennis Johnston Park
709 Riley Fuzzel Rd
Spring, TX 77373
United States