Journey's Flight: One Western Monarch's Record Setting Migration

"A close encounter with a Monarch butterfly always strikes me as somewhat magical--and reading Journey's Flight is no different. These unique stories of Journey's adventures, on what seems an impossible migration path, are truly inspired. It's not surprising that young people could capture the heart of a butterfly, and seeing their creative endeavors in the form of this wonderfully illustrated book is pure delight!" --Melody Carlson, butterfly-lover and award-winning author of more than 200 books Using 35 fascinating full color illustrations and photographs, this book tells a story based upon a real event. Journey, a Western Monarch Butterfly did hatch at Sisters Middle School in Central Oregon, on September 15, 2016. He did fly more than 800 miles south setting a record for the longest migration flight of any tagged Oregon Monarch butterfly. In November 2016, his tag number (A6504) was reported in a butterfly sanctuary in Carpinteria, California. Those facts we know. Individuals were there to witness and document Journey’s presence in Southern California. The rest of Journey’s migration narrative had to be developed by Sisters Middle School students based on what they had learned about Monarch butterflies. Journey’s Flight is really a story about us. It’s about our interconnectedness. It’s a tale of how a small group of students, teachers, scientists, parents, community volunteers, writers and artists came together to create a conservation education project in support of the threatened Western Monarch butterfly. It’s a heartwarming story about a trail-blazing butterfly and most especially, about how individuals of all ages, stages of life and backgrounds dedicated time and resources to engage and support students in their dedicated efforts to save these majestic creatures. All profits from the sale of this book go to the Sisters Middle School Butterfly Project. The book also contains many articles and resource materials, including work by Dr. David James – Associate Professor, Department of Entomology, Washington State University David is a research entomologist with 40 years experience on Monarch butterfly biology and ecology in Australia and the United States. He has published 22 scientific papers on Monarch biology which was also the subject of his PhD thesis. He is currently conducting an extensive research program on Monarchs in the Pacific Northwest including studies on breeding and migration ecology and dynamics. He is also coordinating a successful program with Washington State Penitentiary which involves inmate rearing of Monarchs for migration research. Non-incarcerated citizen scientists are also actively involved in this research which is providing a greater understanding of Monarch migration in the Pacific Northwest.