Pollinators
Using & teaching
Curriculum connections are on-going when building and maintaining pollinator gardens.
Below are GENERAL curriculum resources that support the use of schoolyard and pollinator habitat gardens:
- NWF Schoolyard Habitat How-To Guide – Free, K-12, with specific lessons geared primarily to grades 9-12.
- TPWD School Habitat Guide – Free, no specific lessons, but great ideas of what to include in your wildlife habitat to provide interesting learning opportunities
- USFWS Schoolyard Habitat Project Guide – Free, no specific lessons, but great guidance on maintaining the garden
- National Wildlife Federation Eco-Schools USA – register for free and conduct an Environmental Audit for the Schoolyard Habitat and/or Biodiversity pathway
Pollinator Events and Campaigns:
- Million Pollinator Challenge
- Texas Pollinator Bioblitz (the website will be updated annually in the fall)
Pollinator Resources:
- Create a pollinator/bug hotel
- USFWS pollinators (background information and classroom activities)
- TPWD Helpful Guides for observing and photographing pollinators
- Native bees of Texas from NPSOT (background information)
- Austin Butterfly Forum’s list of Caterpillar Food Plants for Central Texas
Below are some collected resources specifically for monarch pollinator habitat (which is automatically beneficial to a variety of pollinators). These resources are part of the National Wildlife Federation Monarch Heroes Program:
- NWF Monarch Mission Curriculum – Free, K-12 lesson plans
- NWF’s Monarch Resource Pages – collected information from funding resources to resource experts to connect with and more
- University of Minnesota’s Monarchs and More curriculum – some free lessons, or entire curriculum available for purchase
- Monarch, Come Play With Me! - Ba Rae Parent/Teacher Guide available. Ages 3-9
The following activities are organized by the time windows appropriate for Monarchs:
Recommended for June - September
- Schoolyard Habitat Site Analysis – sets the stage for your garden design and work
- Order Monarch Tags from Monarch Watch - If you are considering tagging monarchs with your students this fall, USPS First Class Mail can take up to 3-4 weeks for delivery so plan accordingly
Recommended for September – October
**Peak monarch fall migration in Central TX is typically first 2 weeks of October
**Nectar plants are important in the fall
- Mayors Monarch Pledge – consider sharing this community effort with your students
- Journey North live migration maps – for monarchs and other migratory species
- Journey North Symbolic Migration – free, K-12, consider joining this “pen pal” exchange program with students in Mexico – Deadline is typically in mid-October each year
- Design Process - create a to-scale base map by measuring your site with your students, great math applications
- Planting Chart - Involve your students in the plant selection process. Have them research from a list of appropriate native plants (see the City of Austin's Grow Green Guide or the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center’s plant finder for inspiration) and select those that they would like to see in the habitat and that would be appropriate based on your site analysis (sun/shade, topography and drainage, soils etc.)
- Citizen Science - Introduce students to data/observation reporting with Journey North Citizen Science, Monarch Watch, and/or iNaturalist
Recommended for April
**Peak spring migration is typically mid-to-late April
**Milkweed and nectar plants are both important in spring
- Students hold a community forum to educate the larger school community about what they have learned about the Monarch butterfly and what actions they can take in their own backyards to help the monarchs
- Learn more about local, native milkweeds in the TPWD Identification of Milkweeds in Texas guide