Let’s Get Connected: Monarch Conservation and More!
Speaker: Lynne Campbell
Thursday, March 26, 2026
3 p.m. CT followed by a social time at 4 p.m.
Online with Zoom
Our recent REAP Grant application is designed to grow community engagement by growing programming opportunities and implementing partnerships at the local level. The goal is to support the implementation of the Iowa Monarch Conservation Consortium (IMCC) Iowa Monarch Conservation Strategy by using the research produced by IMCC graduate students to help people deeply understand that we must add stems of milkweed and forbs to the landscape.
We will engage with public libraries, K-12 schools, civic leaders in city and county government, and community organizations. Citizen science experiences that will be featured are Mayors for Monarchs, Miles for Monarchs, Monarch Zones, Symbolic Migration, and Monarch Tagging and they will be implemented with partners regionally with AmeriCorps members providing sustained support.
This grant features the continued implementation of the highly impactful Iowa DNR REAP Monarch Eggs Project with the goal to increase understanding about the significance of the monarch butterfly as an ambassador to demonstrate the urgency of pollinator conservation efforts. Pollinators are the foundation of our ecosystems and are critical for our food supply. Every stem of nectar plants matters for pollinators. Every stem of milkweed matters for monarch caterpillars.
Together we can learn how the ISU Retirees can collectively make a difference.
Lynne Campbell started her Iowa State University journey as a student-athlete letterwinner in softball. She earned a B.S. at Mount Mercy University and M.S. at Drake and taught physical science, biology, and middle school science for several years. She then brought her passion for teaching and science to the position of STEM Extension Education Specialist for Iowa State University Extension and Outreach. She worked in partnership with ISU and USDA researchers to share their cutting-edge discoveries with the citizens of Iowa, the US, and with partners in Jamaica and Mexico. Her grant-supported programs engaged K-12 students as well as adults in learning about the natural world, especially her favorite — monarchs. She lived the land-grant mission through her work!
For example, through a grant with Iowa’s Department of Natural Resources, Lynne led the Monarch Eggs Project where students reared monarch butterflies from eggs through the stages of caterpillar, chrysalis, and adult butterfly. Another project was the Milkweed Planting Kits that were supported by the Iowa State University Seed Science Center where students learned how to grow milkweed because it is an essential part of monarch habitat. Her work includes leading the development of several National 4-H Council programs that provided opportunities for youth to learn about monarchs, native bees, and improving water quality. She has earned several awards for her teaching and outreach, including a Fulbright Teacher Exchange to Japan to learn about Japan’s educational system and she shared her expertise in education and the Chris Holt Youth Environmental Education Award from the Iowa Association of Naturalists. Most recently Lynne was selected to present a poster at the 2025 International Monarch Symposium at Monarch Watch in Lawrence, KS and she received a scholarship to attend the January 2025 Natural Habitat Adventures Kingdom of the Monarchs trip to visit the monarch sanctuaries in Mexico. Both were highlights of her career at Iowa State University 4-H Youth Development.
New Life into Old Fiddles