Milkweeds, Monarchs, and Maine
Instructor: Cyrene Slegona
3 Wednesdays • 7/12-7/26 • 9:30-11:30 AM
Class size 6-12 students
3 seats remaining
Location: Viles Arboretum
Week 1: Austin Wilkins Room, Viles Arboretum
Weeks 2 & 3: Viles Arboretum fieldwork
The Viles Arboretum is located at 153 Hospital St., Augusta, ME.
A summer course to learn about the Monarch butterfly life cycle and anatomy, and the interaction between butterflies and milkweeds of Maine through lecture, art, and field exploration.
The first classroom session will be primarily a PowerPoint presentation. The following two sessions will be fieldwork – to locate, identify, and sketch the lifecycle of the Monarch, milkweed, and other encountered flora/fauna.
Viles Arboretum website
Cyrene Slegona has been engaged with monarchs since she was a young girl in Lincolnville. As a classroom teacher she integrated work with them in grades 1 through 7. Since retirement she continues to work with citizen science projects as a Maine Master Naturalist and Penobscot Bay Steward as well as rearing, tagging, and releasing monarchs each summer. She gives presentations and workshops concerning monarchs as an indicator species for the environment and the significance of milkweed as an essential plant for many pollinators and insects. She is a graduate of the University of Maine with a Master’s degree in Education.