Journey North Symbolic Monarch Butterfly Migration

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A Visit to El Rosario Sanctuary
Estela Romero often visits both of the largest sanctuaries each year to check on the monarchs. At El Rosario Sanctuary on the last days of January she notes that the density of population of Monarchs has diminished and the monarchs are now settling in a part of the sanctuary called "El Llano de los Conejos" forest.

A couple of young guys marvelled at the beautiful forest. Young parents with little babies having fun in spite of not being a warm day today.
	The Sanctuary crowded with people, since next Monday México is celebrating a holiday, so we have a long weekend, and by that, one of the best weekends at the Sanctuaries with lots of visitors.

*Miguel Hidalgo Elementary* 1er Cuartel de Rondanilla, Angangueo
Children attending this school and their families are as well witnesses of the arrival and leaving of Monarchs to/from both Sanctuaries, since their school is located at the “entrance door” to both sites up in the mountains surrounding Angangueo. Estela told the children, "They pass flying clouding the sky in small groups, peacefully deciding which Sanctuary to choose for their staying the next months with us.”

This is a view of the school. Children arrive on time at 9 a.m. Some walk to school accompanied with their mothers.	Some children living in the surrounding communities arrive by public transportation.	Getting in line in order to be greeted by the Director and their teachers and in order to go to their classrooms in order.

Estela going into the monarch life-cycle phases with the groups. Students listening to the challenges monarchs have to overcome in order to survive.	The monarch life cycle is much more complex than many students imagined.	Now the students write about their lives for their friends in the north.

The students take care to represent themselves in their letters. They are.enchanted to speak about themselves and their lives.		Each student excitedly receives their ambassador butterfly!

It is exciting for the children to receive small gifts.	More fun surprises are included as gifts for the students.

The group photograph.	Students also receive books for their classrooms.

Lázaro Cárdenas Elementary, La Salud Community near El Rosario Sanctuary
This school is located by the main road as entrance door to “El Rosario” Sanctuary, coming from Angangueo, Town. The view to the valley is simply impressive from this point, as this community is located at an average of 3,000 km. Today it was a particularly cold day, with high possibilities of snow, typical weather for this time of the year.

Way up high, this is the view of Angangueo from the school!	We should remember you that we have no heating/warming systems at our homes, schools, or businesses. Although we are used to this cold weather during this time of the year, we have a hard time enduring these days.

Children having received their Ambassador Butterflies, excited to respond to their letters from US and Canada.	They love to reflect and to speak about their home land as the winter-home for Monarch Butterflies and as one of the most important ecosystems in the region and for the central part of our country.

Children receiving their Ambassador Butterflies, opening their envelopes, and reading their letters, many of them accompanied with little presents as stickers, postcards, bookmarkers and photos, which they love to receive.

Some stickers, and the group photo.		Receiving books from Monarch Across Georgia.

Another fun book was a gift.	The students are pleased to receive their books.	Break time.
	It is so cold, but children can only buy a snack for lunch for two or three pesos (15-20 cents). The custom of mothers packing a sandwich/torta, taco or any kind of home-made lunch, seems to have disappeared. Very bad news, because this goes in detriment of the children's health and development at school.
A group photograph.		While children attend school, many parents work on very local activities from which they make a living.

Ignacio López Rayón Elementary School Rancho Escondido Community, near El Rosario
In every visit to every school I can see that children get more and more aware of the importance of the preservation of Monarchs’ habitat, and the importance of the Ecosystem our region represents. They are astonished at hearing of the complex migration of Monarchs and the reasons why they have chosen our region with rich Oyamel concentrations to overwinter every year.

It is almost 9 a.m. Children are arriving to school on time; the youngest children come with their mothers.	Children walking to school, like they do each day.	View of the school (and Estela's car) and children coming from their homes in the surrounding area.

Children enthusiastically participating, all raising their hand at a time and even fighting among them to get the chance to come to the front of the group. Students guess what the order on the 4 stages of monarch reproduction.	Students carefully consider what to write and draw.	Students are concentrating on writing to their new friends in the USA and Canada.

Knowing that the Oyamel tree is such a singular tree for them due to special characteristics it has, is also something they had never heard before, an love it to hear all this new information about how important and unique our Forests are	For most children, it is not believable that Monarchs main feeding stage is when they are caterpillars, and that in during these months, when they are overwintering at our mountains, they mainly dring water and some nectar from some flowers.	Children enjoying writing their response letters, feeling proud of being part of this wonderful region where they've been born.

Children opening their letters anxious to read and to see what they've got from their counterparts in the North, showing to Estela what they've got as presents and letters.

	The students were very excited about the new books they will share in their classroom.

	Farewell to Estela, clapping her hands at her visit. Estela just couldn't help crying seeing their faces of enchantment at her visit and their talk and compromise to do our best to preserve our region.
	Children fight each other for winning the chance to help Estela go back to Rocinante, then they wave as she heads back to Angangueo.

Presidente Calles Elementary Las Trojes Community, Town of Ocampo
Most families in Ocampo town have always lived from forest resources, so making children at schools in this town aware of the importance of preserving the ecosystem they live in and the habitat of Monarch Butterflies is base. Both children and teachers receive Journey North arms open, since Journey has visited this, like many other schools for years now.

School view and impressions about the arrival time.	As photos show, some other children are showing off, bringing to school their new bicycles they were given on the "Three Kings Day".	Some children, if having some money, buy a jelly or hot bread before classes start.

Students displaying the life cycle models for the monarch.

Children receiving and opening their Ambassador Monarchs, opening and removing their letters and even in some cases receiving a small present.

Children sharing their small gifts and showing their butterflies.	Students were excited to receive some new books.	The students proudly show the classroom Symbolic Monarch that they received!

*20 de Noviembre* San Juan Community, Ocampo Town
On arriving to school and gathering the groups together, Estela delivers an informative, interactive talk reminding students of the life cycle of Monarchs. The children specially love having Estela repeat twice or thrice the amazing fact that Monarchs' main feeding phase is when they are Caterpillars. They just hadn't heard of an animal that can survive from water and nectar and sun ligh,t as Monarchs do now that they are overwintering in our mountains in Central México, in Angangueo's Sanctuaries.

This school is located within the far surroundings of the Ejido of “El Rosario”. Childrens’ families at this schools live mainly from forest resources as well.		The students take care in writing letters with artistic drawings.

Once children receive their Ambassador Monarchs, and before opening the envelopes of the letters sent by their counterparts in the North, they excitedely decide to first responde expressing their gratitude and surprise of receiving their letters packed and sent from children from so far away.

While expressing themselves in their response letters, children love to feel that they part of a "community" formed between children of the three countries hosting the Monarch Butterflies. They find it honorable and important to take on the work of preservation of the Monarch Butterflies habitat.		Students excited to receive post-cards, colorful bookmarkers, stickers, etc.

The children are thrilled to be getting a present from a friend living so far away in the North, where, in this moment they are coping with a cold winter time, totally contrary to our warm, sunny winter here.		Many children wonder how they organize with their own teachers to design the Ambassador butterflies, most of which they love, specially when they are designed with bright colours, sparkled shining powder, colorful antennas.

Break time where children get a delicious fruit cocktail and a "jicaleta" (juicy slide of jícama with chili spread on it), each one for 2 and 1 pesos respectively!(one peso=$.07) Cheaper would be impossible!. (Children get 5-10 pesos at the most from their parents to spend at school). Some very tasty snacks are also available for a similar price, like a delicious pasta-chicharrón piece covered with chili too.

Books donated by "Monarchs Across Georgia."	Boys gathering together at break-time to play marbles. Girls just wander around much quieter sitting down around at the garden to talk to their girl-friends. The separation of groups in girls with girls and boys with boys at breaktime at any schoool, is very clear.	A couple of girls from 6th. grade who loved the visit, taking Estela back to Rocinante, and expressing their fascination to stay a little longer together with each other.

*Francisco I. Madero* "1a. Manzana de Nicolás Romero" Community


Impressions of the life in this community in the very near surroundings of Angangueo. Teachers walk to school in the morning since there is no regular transportation service to the community. A little ahead, a grandfather of one of the many families who, like most, make a living from very local activities, like selling in town the cow-milk they collect from their own cattle at home. This day was dark and stormy. Here is the school.

Children working with their only teacher Benjamin, who teaches the three grades of the afternoon shift. This is one of the most dedicated teachers Estela has known in all communities; Estela has been warmly received by him to his school and pupils during the last years Journey North has visited them.	Students examine their symbolic butterflies and then write their letters.	Estela, marvelled to have shared the afternoon with this wonderful children who end the time shared embracing Estela and loving Journey North's message!

Showing their ambassador butterflies.	A very dark sky cracks letting an intense rain with hail falling onto the whole area in the community and in town!

At leaving, children warn Estela of a dark cloud covering the area and starting to crack with releasing heavy rain and hail!. All run to refuge in Rocinante, which is fiercely ready to take them all in and drop them home as soon as possible! They pass by neighbors hurrying home.

Mountains and road through the community was carpeted with hail. Children were excited to reach home, and "change clothes to go outside and make hail figures, as if it had snowed!"
	This is a typical school from the surrounding communities to Angangueo. As the nearest school to “El Cerrito”, --the last halting area where a considerable quantity of Monarchs take a last rest before reaching their Sanctuaries, Journey North finds in this children and his families an important point to visit and to deliver Ambassador Monarchs, for them to get a broader scope on the impact of the preservation –or not--, of the overwintering habitat of Monarchs.
Children waving Estela good bye before dissapearing to take their way home into the mountain.


Emiliano Zapata Elementary San Antonio Community near El Rosario Sanctuary
At this school, all grades, from 1st.-6th. are taught in the same classroom by a single teacher who teaches all subjects to the different grades. A real challenge. Everywhere in México, a person the figure of the Teacher is well respected, but in small towns and communities like ours, a teacher is highly respected and recognized. The road is not very accessible, but Rocinante was really brave at going further and further. I was particularly happy to have visited this school, since children there have fewer opportunities than some of the other schools I've visited.

Children arriving in the morning, later than 9, which is the official time. The teacher who lives in Ocampo town, has to walk the last two kilometers to reach, since the school is located at a point where no public transportation passes by.		Estela introduces Journey North and herself, children go all rapt attention to the talk about Monarchs' habitat preservation.

Students can hardly wait to receive their butterflies!	At this school, parents highly recognize that Teacher Tonatihu, coming from the far away northern state of Nayarit and being a teacher for this school for years, deserves to have a good lunch every day at break-time with the children, so mothers send with the girls a pot of frijoles today, to accompany with hand-made tortillas and a spicy chili-tomato salad or sauce, prepared by the teacher himself.

The students learn about the life-cycle of the monarch and how only the adult butterfly lives here in the winter.

Children filling in their letters of response, thrilled the older ones, but a challenge for the three youngest ones in the group, who hardly can write their names, preferring to express, through a drawing how proud they are from their homeland.

	Then, children are thrilled to open their Ambassador Butterflies!

They keep looking back and forth, at the inside and outside decoration of each Ambassador Butterfly received, before they even open their letters!		Here is the whole group with their butterflies.

They are also thrilled to receive the donated books		All students with teacher Tonatiuh wave good bye to Journey North asking Estela to promise to come back next year!

A unique view of Angangueo.	Moms washing clothes at a small river by the road, as part of the house-work, while children attend school.	Mothers gathering and sharing while they wait for their children to finish classes to take them back home for dinner.

Melchor Ocampo Elementary El Puerto Community, Ejido de Angangueo
The elevation of this site, high in the forest, as seen in the photos attached, is simply incredible. The overview is just a postcard! The school has 2 classrooms. One where grades 1, 2, and 3 are taught, and one where grades 4, 5, and 6 are together for instruction. Each group is assisted by a teacher teaching all subjects to the three levels.

A view of the school on the mountainside.	Estela had never been to, since the road was very rugged and the school was far up the hillside. The students welcome her!Children, immediately asked for having their Ambassador Monarchs and letters and immediately decided to respond to them.	Estela reached the school with only the assistance of a couple of people who oriented her in the right direction.

Children, immediately asked for having their Ambassador Monarchs and letters and immediately decided to respond to them.

Children opening their Ambassador butterflies, observing their design, decoration, materials used in their design.	Then, reading their letter, which results both a challenge, fun, and surprise for all of them. They're thrilled to know that their letter will fly in a box by plane to a school "colleague" either somewhere in US or in Canada.

They love the little gifts inside the butterfly!	They show the books that were donated to their classroom.	This is the group posing for a photo.

Students join Estela when it is time to go. They ask Journey North and Monarchs Across Georgia to come back next year.	Kids walking home.	Hauling firewood on a local road.

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