Are you involved in environmental education, or do you know someone who is?
Natural Habitat Adventures is now accepting applications for its 2019 Monarch Butterfly Scholarship Grant! The grant will award two qualified teachers an opportunity to experience the monarch butterfly migration on a small-group adventure led by premier naturalist guides. The two scholarship winners will get to learn about this astounding natural phenomenon as they witness millions of monarchs gathering at their winter roosting sites in Central Mexico’s forested highlands.
Each grant recipient will be awarded one space on the January 6, 2019 Kingdom of the Monarchs adventure (a $3,595 value), plus free roundtrip airfare.*
The Monarch Butterfly Scholarship Grant is open to any person in the United States who is an environmental educator, including preschool, elementary, middle and high school teachers; college professors; educational exhibition curators; nonprofit outreach specialists; textbook authors; documentary producers; and more.
The official application form is available online at www.nathab.com/monarchgrant and the deadline to apply is October 1, 2018.
In January 2019, the two grant winners will journey into remote forest groves in the mountains of Mexico, where millions of butterflies congregate for the winter. This rare nature immersion will include three visits to Mexico’s famed monarch sanctuaries—intimate experiences that are sure to leave the two educators with lasting lessons and memories to share with their students back in America.
The nature adventure will be enhanced by expert interpretation from Natural Habitat’s Expedition Leaders, who have in-depth training as naturalists (with an average of 19 years of guiding experience) along with access to resources from World Wildlife Fund scientists.
As part of this adventure, the grantees will also get to see the local benefits of butterfly ecotourism, including visits to a traditional Mexican mountain village and a rural market. The expedition includes stops at Mexican heritage sites like the 13th-century Indian settlement of Toluca, the Cosmovitral Botanic Gardens and stained glass panels, and the lakeside market town and waterfalls of Valle de Bravo.
The winners will overnight at accommodations chosen to immerse them in the charming natural environs while providing easy access to the butterflies, from a cozy inn in the small mountain hamlet of Angangueo to a luxury spa resort in the lush woods of the Sierra Madre Mountains. They will also enjoy home-cooked dishes sourced from fresh local food, reflecting the region’s culinary heritage.
Educators and parents who are interested in resources to help their students explore and understand the world around them are encouraged to visit WWF’s Wild Classroom website for a toolkit to help inspire the next generation to build a future where people and nature thrive!
* Air reservations from the closest major U.S. airport hub must be made by the Natural Habitat Adventures Travel Desk.
