journey north project

Symbolic Migration Project

About Symbolic Migration

The Symbolic Monarch Migration is a project of the Monarchs Across Georgia, a committee of the nonprofit organization, the Environmental Education Alliance. Monarchs Across Georgia administers the project including coordinating the exchange of symbolic butterflies among 2000+ classrooms in three countries, engaging a contract worker to provide lessons and deliver materials in Mexico, and raising funds for the project's continuation. Journey North support this project by hosting educational materials for elementary school teachers engaged in this project. Through their Small Grant Program, the Monarch Butterfly Fund supports the Monarch Across Georgia "Beyond the Mexico Book Project" providing funding for books and environmental education efforts in the schools surrounding the Mexican monarch sanctuaries.

Join students across the globe to create symbolic monarch butterflies to send to Mexico. Youth who live near the Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve in Mexico will protect the paper butterflies and return them in the spring. Through the Symbolic Migration, youth are united by the monarch butterfly and celebrate its spectacular migration. The symbolic butterflies’ fall flight is timed to correspond with the real monarchs’ journey south. As the eastern population of North American monarchs arrive in Mexico for the winter, students from the sanctuary region receive their symbolic butterflies. Sometime in March, when the real monarchs’ departure from Mexico is announced, the paper butterflies return north carrying special messages from the students in Mexico. The annual migration of millions of monarchs across North America is among the world’s most spectacular natural events. Countries across Mexico, United States and Canada must cooperate to protect the monarch butterfly. Your participation represents international support for the monarch. These symbolic butterflies build bridges of communication among participants in Mexico, the United States, and Canada. United by the monarch butterfly, youth celebrate and pledge to protect monarchs and their extraordinary migration.

Purchasing Your Ambassador Butterflies

Find out more information about this project by reading the 2024-2025 Leader Packet. The early bird registration deadline is September 30, 2024. The full price deadline is October 18, 2024.

2024-2025 Leader Packet