Every spring and fall, monarch butterflies migrate through Oklahoma. With the OKC Living Classroom grant program, metro-area schools will be able to create a monarch habitat to protect them.
By Sabrina Bates
“Classes are going on in the garden from the moment it’s designed all the way through its maturity,” said Rebecca Snyder, the director of conservation and science with the Oklahoma City Zoo.
These monarch butterflies gardens are planted on school grounds and maintained for three years.
“But within a year of them being created, they’re already attracting butterflies and other pollinators,” Snyder said.
Through the grant program, schools are able to get plants and materials they need, along with a curriculum for the classroom. With milkweed and nectar plants, these gardens provide a habitat for migrating monarchs and other native pollinators to Oklahoma.
“We also want to teach children why it’s important to be concerned about our ecosystem and what’s happening with native species and how they can help,” Snyder said.
This is the fourth year of the grant program. Thirteen schools have been awarded grants so far, with five more this year.
“We had one student from John Ross Elementary School in Edmond tell us that he only feels happiness when he’s in the school’s garden, so that kind of information just always makes my heart happy,” Snyder said.
Any k-12 metro-area school can apply before April 1. More information about the application process.
Originally published at Koco5