Sanfordville PIE class visits WVHS to learn about monarch butterflies

On Wednesday, January 24th, Jamie Harrington’s PIE class from Sanfordville Elementary School visited Warwick Valley High School to participate in a science-based lab with Ms. Nancy Colgan’s class. The presentation was on the monarch butterfly and its unique role in our environment.

The elementary children learned that the Monarch is an indicator species; meaning its population decline is a sign which indicates concerns about the health of pollinators in our environment. 

Educational stations led by high school students included: 

• Stages of the monarch’s  life cycle:  the elementary students cut out pictures of the stages of the monarch’s life cycle and put them in order from egg to butterfly,
• The students also studied the milkweed plant as the monarch caterpillar’s only food source and the location for them to lay their eggs.  The PIE classes learned about stratification after planting milkweed seeds in the greenhouse. The seeds were brought back to the classroom to observe and keep a journal of the growth of the milkweed seeds. One of the high school students plans to remain in contact with the PIE class through an electronic journal.
• Monarch butterfly game included: wing function, anatomy, colors, and mimicry.
• Students learned about monarch migration from Canada to Mexico via a floor map from which they threw a basketball into the hoop for each answer.
• Students played Fun Fact Monarch game shows with Chromebooks.

One of the high school students shared his enthusiasm for trout that are being raised by the high school Conservation class. The station highlighted the importance of trout in our ecosystem as an indicator and a keystone species. Students saw how trout are raised in the Agricultural classroom in the high school. 

In addition to the PIE class attending, other members from the community were present. These included: WVHS Principal Georgianna Diopoulos, individuals from Warwick Valley Gardeners, Orange Environment (Hudson Valley Pollinator project), Monarch Village Designation project, the Warwick Valley FFA, the high school communications and media department, and Warwick Valley High School alumni. 

View a slideshow of photographs from the visit below: