Many people know about the staggering population decline in monarch butterflies and other pollinators. Community science programs can create an important point of engagement for community members from many backgrounds. For the last three years, as part of a Field Museum community science project, amateur scientists throughout the Chicago Region have monitored monarch caterpillars in their urban gardens for the Keller Science Action Center’s Monarch Community Science Project. Since 2020 this project has been available in both English and Spanish at bit.ly/monarchmonitors. As part of the monitoring protocol, participants submitted weekly data surveys. We will share the results of those surveys and what they have taught us about important traits of urban gardens that help monarch caterpillars thrive. This talk will describe key insights we have gained during the course of conducting this community science project and how we hope to engage gardeners in the future to make a case for the valuable role urban gardens play in providing pollinator habitat.

Presenters: Erika Hasle, Conservation Ecologist, Keller Science Action Center and Colleen McVeigh, Urban Conservation Education Specialist, Field Museum