2015 Preseason Musings and News

2015 - Preseason Musings and News

Dick Walton, MMP Founder and Director

This season is shaping up to be an important one for the Monarch Monitoring Project. On November 1, 2015 Mark Garland will become the new director of the MMP. Those of you familiar with our work will know that Mark has been an integral part of MMP for a number of years. In 2011 Mark joined Louise Zemaitis and myself on MMP’s permanent staff. Previously Mark worked as an MMP volunteer although his work with monarchs dates to the mid-1990s when he founded the Cape  Charles (Virginia) monarch migration project. Among his important MMP accomplishments are the Monarchists, (a team competing in the annual World Series of Birding) whose efforts have become a major fund raising effort for MMP, as well as his coordination of our “Monarch Demos,” workshops at which MMP staff, interns, and volunteers share information on monarch biology and conservation and demonstrate monarch tagging to hundreds of visitors each season. See link at bottom to find out more about Mark’s remarkable career as a naturalist. Both Louise and I are enthusiastically looking forward to Mark Garland taking the helm and are confident of MMP's continuing success under his leadership.

Additional important preseason news is that Linsey Brendel and Katherine Burns will join the MMP as our field technicians for the 2015 season. Of course many of you know Lindsey from last year (she just can’t get enough of monarchs and Cape May). Lindsey’s infectious enthusiasm for telling the monarch’s story and her experience with all phases of our work are most welcome. We are also delighted by the prospect of Katie Burns joining team monarch. Katie is a recent graduate of Wheaton College with a BA in Environmental Sciences. In addition to numerous academic honors she served as captain of the Wheaton College Ultimate Frisbee Team (although the last is not an official prerequisite for MMP applicants she may well have an opportunity to make use of this skill in Cape May this fall). Katie has done field work focusing on insects and pollination and has experience working with endangered shorebirds. We welcome Katie and know her enthusiasm and talents will strengthen the MMP 2015 effort.

Finally we would like to acknowledge the contributions of the numerous contributors and supporters of the Monarch Monitoring Project. Our work certainly would not be possible without your hard work, encouragement, and yes, your dollars. Louise, Mark, Lindsey, Katie, and I invite each of you to join us in Cape May this fall.

See you at The Point!

Mark Garland's website: www.mgnature.com