MONARCHS ACROSS GEORGIA
Symbolic Monarch Migration

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​The Monarch Butterfly Fund continues to support our Mexico Book Project through their Small Grants program. Books purchased with grant funds supplement environmental education lessons facilitated through our Symbolic Monarch Migration project. 

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Symbolic Monarch Migration: Celebrating 30 Years!

News Flash! Estela Romero Receives NAPPC Pollinator Advocate Award - Mexico!

A third-generation resident of Angangueo, Michoacán, Estela Romero has spent the last two decades fostering monarch butterfly conservation through education. Living adjacent to the Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve, she documents monarch overwintering activity for Journey North, sharing updates with more than 32,000 subscribers. Romero leads the Symbolic Migration project, connecting classrooms across Canada, the U.S., and Mexico through paper butterflies exchanged as symbols of conservation and friendship. Her work bridges cultural and ecological understanding, inspiring students to protect monarchs and their forests across generations.
Read her Acceptance Speech.
The North American Pollinator Protection Campaign (NAPPC) honors eight inspiring pollinator stewards at the 25th annual conference PRESS RELEASE

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​Join us for the 30th annual Symbolic Monarch Migration with youth from across North America. Families, homeschools, zoos and aquariums, nature centers, libraries, youth groups, and classrooms are welcome to participate.

In fall 2024, over 20,000 youth in the U.S. and Canada created symbolic butterflies and sent them to Mexico for the winter. Students in schools near the Mexican monarch sanctuaries protected the butterflies and sent them north in spring 2025.

These symbolic butterflies build bridges of communication between students in Mexico, the U.S., and Canada. United by the monarch butterfly, children across North America learn authentic lessons of conservation, cooperation, and ambassadorship. Read about the Mexican school visits at https://symbolicmigration.org/.

The complete details on how to participate are in the 2025-26 LEADER PACKET. The printable documents linked below are in the Leader Packet as well, but are also included here for your convenience.

• Hello Friends/Hola Amigos Letter (1-page PDF)
• Life-Sized Butterfly Template  (Google doc w/ 4 butterflies on a page)
• Examples of Ambassadors
• Suggested Spanish Sentences to Use Inside Ambassador Butterfly Folders
• Google Drive Folder of Ambassador Templates
• Directions (video below)

To cover the costs of this important educational project, participants must pay a registration fee for each Ambassador Folder by October 10, 2025. Payments can be made with credit/debit cards by enrolling in the Symbolic Monarch Migration Course on the Monarch Joint Venture Nectar Hub.   
The fee pays for our supplies, shipping charges and postage but most importantly, the school visits in Mexico to deliver the butterflies and provide conservation education. 
You must also postmark your Ambassador packet no later than October 17, 2025.

ENROLL IN COURSE

VIDEOS
​Springtime - A Time of Renewal

The Symbolic Migration Project

Three Nations Join to Celebrate Monarch Butterflies

ButterBike with Sarah Dykman 

Monarch! Come Play with Me! by Ba Rea (book readings in English and Spanish)

Dia de los Muertos (PowerPoint by Estela Romero)

The final postmark deadline for the 2025-26 Symbolic Migration season is
​October 17, 2025 but registration fees must be paid by October 10, 2025.

If you can't participate in the Symbolic Migration this season, but would still like to receive news, you can sign up to receive Symbolic Migration News Updates. 

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Timeline 2025-2026

By October 10, 2025

• Pay the registration fee by enrolling in the Symbolic Monarch Migration Course through the Monarch Joint Venture Nectar Hub

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By October 17, 2025

• Introduce Symbolic Migration (Activities #1-6) https://journeynorth.org/symbolic-migration/resources/teaching/07212020-participate-symbolic-migration-project ​
• ​Follow the directions in the Leader's Packet and mail your Ambassador and enclosures by the postmark deadline of October 17, 2025 ​

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 November 2025 - March 2026: Learn About the Monarch's Winter Home in Mexico

• Read about your Ambassador Butterfly in Mexico! Use the search function at the top right of the https://symbolicmigration.org/ website to locate your school/group/family or your town. Check back weekly! Deliveries begin in early November and are usually completed by late February or early March.
• Read monarch butterfly news from Mexico: https://journeynorth.org/monarchs/news
• Enjoy Journey North's online resources for the Symbolic Monarch Migration:  https://journeynorth.org/tm/symbolic/indexCurrent.html 

 April- May 2026: Continue the Cycle of Friendship

• Watch your  mailbox! You will receive an envelope with a cluster of life-sized butterflies from participating groups (Canada and the USA) and a letter from a Mexican student in ample time for a Cinco de Mayo (May 5th) homecoming celebration.
• VERY IMPORTANT: Report the arrival of individual life-sized butterflies by contacting the leaders directly. Leader emails should be on every life-sized butterfly. Please make time for this important step! Children will be waiting to find out where their own butterflies landed.

 

Follow Us & Keep in Touch

The Symbolic Monarch Migration project is a partnership project between the Monarch Joint Venture and Monarchs Across Georgia (a committee of the nonprofit organization, the Environmental Education Alliance). Monarch Joint Venture hosts educational materials on its website. Monarchs Across Georgia administers the project including coordinating the exchange of symbolic butterflies among 1500+ classrooms in three countries, engaging a contract worker to provide lessons and deliver materials in Mexico, and raising funds for the project's continuation.