Monarchs Matter: Metamorphosing Monarch Butterflies, Our Youth, and the World

By Cynthia Zhang, 2024 True Blue Fellow

We are losing one of the most iconic creatures of North America: the monarch butterfly. Known for its vibrant orange and black-veined wings, monarchs are appreciated for not only their beauty but also their crucial role in pollination and the food web across the continent. Twice a year, these resilient insects embark on a 3000-mile migration journey between Mexico and the United States, supporting countless ecosystems along the way. However, due to habitat loss, climate change, and pesticide and herbicide use, the eastern U.S. monarch population has plummeted by 95% in less than 30 years, with overwintering numbers in Mexico reaching the second lowest count on record last year.

Cynthia teaching Raise, Tag, and Release (RTR) Summer Program students about the monarch butterfly decline, lifecycle, and conservation.

To combat this alarming decline, Cynthia Zhang, a 2024 True Blue Fellow, founded Monarchs Matter, a nonprofit organization based in Long Island, New York dedicated to monarch conservation and youth empowerment. This summer, Cynthia hosted the Monarchs Matter Raise, Tag, and Release (RTR) Summer Program, in partnership with grassroots nonprofit organization ReWild Long Island, to educate students using a learning-while-doing approach. Over 10 weeks, youth participants contributed 550+ volunteer hours, recorded 1,325 observations for the Monarch Larva Monitoring Project, and raised 80+ monarch butterflies, all while learning about the importance of sustainable habits, native species, and biodiversity.

Additionally, students received 100 milkweed plugs—the sole host of monarch butterflies—to plant in their yards, cultivating biodiversity from their own homes and, for many, starting their first native plant gardens. These native milkweed plants also sequester atmospheric carbon and are grown without chemicals, addressing all three challenges that monarchs face (habitat loss, climate change, and pesticide and herbicide use). By putting their hands into the ground and witnessing the metamorphosis of a monarch from egg to butterfly, youth could truly understand the magic of wildlife and their responsibility to protect it.

RTR students tagging and releasing monarch butterflies at community gardens.

After tagging and releasing butterflies for the Monarch Watch Tagging Program—a community science project that studies the dynamics of the monarch’s fall migration, RTR student Max Zimmerman shared, “One of the reasons I liked this program so much was due to its hands-on approach. In my opinion, hands-on programs are the most effective and enjoyable way to learn. I never knew that you could tag a butterfly! Hopefully one day I will find a tagged monarch. I appreciated spending time outdoors connecting with nature and meeting like-minded people. After this experience I plan to keep raising monarchs every year and spreading the word of their importance.”

Similarly, RTR student Hasana Sayeed reflected on her role in bringing awareness to her community: “I was able to share the beautiful moment of tagging and releasing with a girl from the Ronald McDonald House going through treatment at the hospital. She had such an amazing time holding the butterflies and watching them flutter off to Mexico. I was also able to tell many people about what I had learned and they were all fascinated at how just a small butterfly could have such an amazing life. The RTR Program has been a magical experience that I will surely never forget. I am so delighted that I have had the opportunity to raise butterflies, take all of the information I have learned, and pass it on to other people.”

Monarch butterfly community workshop and release event with ReWild Long Island and Islamic Circle of North America Nassau.

Beyond the RTR Program, Cynthia has also expanded her efforts, collaborating with other grassroots organizations like ReWild Long Island, Baxter’s Pond Foundation, and Islamic Circle of North America Nassau. Together, they host family workshops and monarch release events, promoting further awareness and action in their community.

Raising awareness about biodiversity conservation with an elderly tai chi group in Guangzhou, China.

Of course, the monarch butterfly decline is a continent-wide issue that requires collective action across Canada, Mexico, and the United States. Thus, to reach international audiences, Cynthia has hosted educational webinars and events in partnership with other nonprofits and individuals from multicultural and multiracial backgrounds, such as Monarch Watch Director Dr. Kristen Baum based in Kansas, USA; The Monarch Missions founder Olivia Xing based in British Columbia, Canada; and an elderly tai chi group based in Guangzhou, China.

Installing a monarch waystation sign with ReWild Long Island President Raju Rajan and RTR students at the ReWild Dodge Garden in Port Washington, NY.

Although in the off-season, more projects are still brewing! Cynthia is currently organizing an upcoming webinar with butterfly enthusiasts from Pakistan and Hong Kong, and funding monarch waystation signs and certifications for homes and community gardens. She’s also planning to restore Mexico’s Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve (MBBR) of oyamel fir forests—the monarch’s overwintering habitat, which is threatened by deforestation. To empower other youth environmentalists, new chapters of Monarchs Matter and a blog series featuring RTR student reflections are in the works (snippets of their testimonials were seen above)!

From a spark of curiosity about the monarch butterfly in 2022, to learning how to raise and tag monarchs in 2023, and finally founding Monarchs Matter in 2024, Cynthia hopes to inspire people of all ages and backgrounds to turn their vision for environmental conservation to life. Although we may not feel like part of the problem, we must be part of the solution. Together, we can metamorphose our world into a biodiverse and sustainable future for monarchs, humans, and all wildlife.