Middle School students from Our Lady of Guadalupe School and Marian Middle School recently learned a lot about butterflies at LREC. Their teachers, all high school seniors at St. Joseph’s Academy and students in Katie Lodes’ Advance Placement Biology class, reflect on their experience:

Larissa: My fondest memory of the day was showing the 8th graders from Our Lady of Guadalupe the monarch butterflies. One of the girls was so amazed with the beauty of the creature that she exclaimed, “One day, I will travel the world and find new creatures like these that are so beautiful and return to a place like this and share my love for nature with others!” Her words truly impacted me and made me realize that one can learn a lot from a person with a different perspective.

Alex: The students and the volunteers were very attentive and curious, but above all, willing to learn and listen. They asked specific questions about the monarchs that we brought and were just as excited to examine the butterflies as the students were. We learned through experiencing the ecosystem in person which is unavailable in a classroom.

Holly: Last Thursday I visited the Litzsinger Road Ecology Center and it was a great way to step outside of the class room and have the opportunity to see real world examples of our class work. I had the opportunity to teach younger students about monarch butterflies and then go out into the prairies where the monarchs actually lived. Seeing our textbooks and class work come to life made the content exciting and relatable. It was also nice to be able to go beyond the classroom and spend time out in the fresh air surrounded by nature. I, as an older student teaching the younger students, had a great time seeing the boys and girls engage with the examples we brought along. They had the opportunity to pick up the caterpillars, swallowtails, and watch them expose their defense mechanisms. When the students saw this, they thought it was the most amazing thing. I am grateful I had the experience to aid in sparking younger students’ interest in wildlife, as my interest was also fueled.

Anna: This experience reiterated to me that I always benefit from learning through visuals and experience rather than words and text. Although we only spent a few hours at the ecology center, I was able to bond with a group students who looked up to me and could learn from my experience. I liked that in addition to discussing plants, I was able to guide a few eighth graders with their high school decision processes. A few of the girls showed interest in attending my school, St. Joe, and I was able to provide them with a realistic idea of what it is like to be a SJA Angel.