Timberwolves are the mascot of Tomahawk Creek Middle, but the school also embraces monarch butterflies.
This is the second year that Tomahawk Creek Middle science classes and Spanish classes collaborated in a cross-curricular conservation project. Science teacher Nicole Rowland and Spanish teachers Brooke Haces and Vanessa Diaz take the lead on the project to raise and release monarch butterflies and learn why they are classified as an endangered species.
Monarchs migrate annually from Canada and the United States to hibernate in Mexico. It’s the only butterfly known to make a two-way migration; the distance is between 1,000 and 3,000 miles each way.
Tomahawk Creek Middle’s project started with monarch eggs harvested from local butterflies at the end of August. The eggs hatched into caterpillars that munched on milkweed for a couple of weeks before they each created a chrysalis, where they spent two more weeks before emerging as orange and black beauties. This year’s first monarch left its chrysalis Sept. 28, with several more emerging daily and fluttering into their new lives.
Tomahawk Creek Middle celebrated during an Oct. 3 event focused on Hispanic heritage and monarch butterflies. About 60 monarchs had been released before the event, but plenty remained for students to interact with in the butterfly tent — and several shook off their shells as the event was going on. The event also included crafts, dancing, food and fun. Tomahawk Creek Middle will release a total of 100 monarch butterflies this year. Each butterfly is tagged with a sticker as part of MonarchWatch.org, a citizen science project of the University of Iowa.
