Volunteer Opportunity: Monarch Butterfly Surveys

There is a volunteer opportunity at Elk Island National Park where research is being conducted to monitor butterfly diversity and Monarch butterfly presence within the park. This work is being done in partnership with Mission Monarch, an organization that uses citizen science to determine Monarch butterfly presence across Canada, and is being led by Dylan Perrott, a student at the University of Alberta.

There are multiple surveys to participate in for this project including a monthly milkweed and blooming plant survey, a weekly immature monarch survey, and a bi-weekly adult butterfly survey where all butterfly species will be documented. The surveys start May 27 and will finish at the end of summer when the butterflies are less prevalent.

If you are interested in lending their butterfly identification experience and working with diverse butterflies in the park, you can reach out to maya.yerichuk@pc.gc.ca.