NatureKids – May 2025
May: Getting Ready for the Monarchs!
May is a marvelous month, full of transformation, much like the life cycle of the monarch butterfly. As the weather warms, monarchs begin their long migration northward, making now a great time to prepare for their arrival. This month’s activities focus on supporting monarchs and learning about their incredible journey and life cycle.
Groups were invited to make “Milkweed Mounds” (also known as seed bombs) using either clay or recycled paper. These small seed bundles are a fun way to support pollinators by spreading native plants. While milkweed is a vital host plant for monarch caterpillars, its seeds need a special cold period (called stratification) before they’ll grow well. Because of this, we recommend using native wildflower seeds in seed bombs for the best chance of success. Native wildflowers also support monarchs later in their life cycle by providing nectar during their late-summer migration. Whether planting or simply letting wildflowers grow, every bloom plays a part in helping pollinators thrive!
To learn more about how to grow milkweed and order your seeds from us, check out this page https://www.naturenb.ca/monarchs/milkweed-seeds/
Additionally, students were invited to play a Monarch themed version of Rock-Paper-Scissors evolution, a fun and active way to explore the monarch’s life cycle. By moving through each stage from egg to butterfly, students learned about metamorphosis through movement and play, engaging their bodies as well as their minds.
A little update from some of our groups:
The Cub Club kids planted some sunflowers in addition to making milkweed seed balls with shredded paper. They also made art with collected items found in nature and have been adding to their collection of loose parts for their mud kitchen including mushrooms, fiddleheads, ferns, and flowers. The group has been learning about bees and excitedly explored a beehive with a digital microscope and had a chance to taste honey!
With the support of our educators at Nature NB, École des Bâtisseurs practiced their bioblitz skills in the forest by their school. They used magnifying glasses and microscopes to explore the world at a macro level. Among their cool finds, one of the groups spotted a mining bee in the process of digging itself a hole in the ground, so cool!
Students at Sussex Elementary School also welcomed a member of the Nature NB team to their school to explore the world of birding! The students loved using the binoculars and were able to see several different species of birds in their own backyard (schoolyard)! They loved the activity and many discovered a newfound interest in birds.
That’s just a snapshot of what our groups were up to this month, thanks to all those that participated and shared their stories with us!
End of Year Updates
May marks the end of another amazing year of NatureKids programming and we want to thank all our groups for their dedication to getting outside and learning from nature over the last nine months! We’ve had 12 participating groups this year, with over 1300 students between them participating in 63+ nature education outings across the province.
In addition to their certificate of participation, two lucky groups are being awarded a prize for their efforts.
Our first prize winner, for getting their group out every month, is the Cub Club, congratulations! They win a $25 gift card to the Outdoor Learning Store and will get to choose between a
- Birding Kit (including a bird feeder, bird guide, and other teacher materials) or a
- Bug Hunt Kit (class set of magnifying glasses, insect guide, and other teaching materials).
Our second prize winner, from a raffle draw where each outing is an extra chance to win, is Sussex Elementary School, congratulations! They also win a $25 gift card to the Outdoor Learning Store as well as access to one of their online learning courses, check them out here.
Thank you so much to the Outdoor Learning Store for supporting these incredible prizes! We hope all our groups, and readers, have a wonderful summer filled with outdoor adventures and nature exploration and look forward to connecting again in the fall.
For more information on how to join NatureKids for the 2025-2026 school year, reach out to programs@naturenb.ca.
Check out this month’s resources below:
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