Greetings Monarch Watchers!
Firstly, we'd like thank you for all of the support you've given us
this year - we couldn't continue to do what we do without your help.
We also wanted to to take this opportunity to wish you and yours a
happy, healthy, holiday season from all of us here at Monarch Watch -
Chip, Jim, Ann, Chris, Fiona, Claire, Emily, Leslie, and Mooki.
Finally, what follows is a brief update to let you know what is going
on with the monarch migration and Monarch Watch in general. Please
feel free to pass it on to anyone you think might be interested...
Happy Holidays! :-)
----------------------------------------------------------
Chip in for Monarch Watch - A New Record!
----------------------------------------------------------
As many of you know, we hold an annual fall fundraising campaign in
honor of our director and founder, Chip Taylor. Monarch Watch turned
20 years old in 2011 and this year's "Chip in for Monarch Watch"
campaign proved to be an amazing birthday present for the program,
with more than 450 donors pledging over $31,000.00 - wow!
If you haven't yet, we encourage you to spend a little time reading
through the donor comments at http://monarchwatch.org/chip - the
connections that are facilitated by monarchs and Monarch Watch are
truly extraordinary.
There is still time to make a fully tax-deductible contribution to
Monarch Watch in 2011 - you can find details there or at
http://monarchwatch.org/donate
If you have any questions about this please feel free to drop us a
line anytime - thank you!
----------------------------------------------------------
Amazon.com Purchases Can Support Monarch Watch
----------------------------------------------------------
Through our association with Amazon.com - and its specialized stores:
Endless (Shoes & Handbags); Amazon Wireless (Mobile Phones); and
Small Parts (Hardware Store) - your purchases can help support
Monarch Watch!
By using any of the links on our site at
http://monarchwatch.org/amazon to visit and shop at Amazon.com,
Endless.com, Amazon Wireless, or SmallParts.com, Monarch Watch will
receive a "commission" equal to a percentage of your purchase amount
(currently 4-15%). This applies to ANY purchase at Amazon's stores -
Apps, Books, Clothing, Electronics, Movies, Music, Office Supplies,
Shoes, Tools, Toys, etc.
So far this year, more than 1500 items have been ordered from Amazon
via Monarch Watch - resulting in a $2500.00 contribution to our
program. Complete quarterly reports are posted to our blog
(http://monarchwatch.org/blog) if you are interested in further
details.
Don't worry, using our links does not affect your pricing at all -
you'll be getting the same pricing as you would if you visited the
Amazon websites directly. Also, no personal information is tied to
purchases; that is, we do not know who made the purchases, only that
they were made via the link(s) from our site and therefore in support
of our program.
Please help us by spreading the word to friends, family, coworkers,
and any other shoppers you can think of - thank you for your
continued support!
Visit Amazon via Monarch Watch at http://monarchwatch.org/amazon
----------------------------------------------------------
Monarch Population Status
----------------------------------------------------------
In the last update of the eastern monarch population (late September,
http://bit.ly/monarchpop201109) we noted that it would be interesting
to see how monarchs cope with the lack of nectar and water in Texas.
We knew that the migration would make it through Texas (and Northern
Mexico) but we didn't know what impact the drought conditions would
have on it.
Modest numbers of monarchs have already arrived at the overwintering
sites in Mexico and they will continue to arrive through the end of
the month. Preliminary reports indicate that the monarchs are spread
out over an area of four hectares or so at this time but we expect
this area to shrink in the coming weeks as the masses of monarchs
become more consolidated.
Our predictions regarding the size of the overwintering monarch
population still stand (visit the link above for details); official
measurements will be done in late December and we will report the
findings in an update after the first of the year.
Stay tuned!
----------------------------------------------------------
Monarch Watch Website - Major Revision in the Works
----------------------------------------------------------
We have talked about it for quite a while now and we are finally
moving forward with a complete redesign, reorganization, and refresh
of the Monarch Watch website. This is a major undertaking and will
include cleaning up our databases to make information more accessible.
Once we have a new framework in place we may ask for some volunteers
to help us with some of the content (by doing a little online
research, typing up articles, suggesting photos, etc.) - if you would
be interested in helping out please stay tuned for further details.
We have not specified a timeline for this project yet, but we are
very excited about it and anxious to get the ball rolling.
----------------------------------------------------------
Gifts for Monarch Watchers
----------------------------------------------------------
In addition to shopping at Amazon in support of Monarch Watch, don't
forget to check out the Monarch Watch Shop
(http://shop.monarchwatch.org) for those Monarch Watchers on your
holiday gift lists.
We have books, posters, t-shirts, seed kits, butterfly nets and more
so you are sure to find just the right thing :-)
You can see an overview of all the items we have available by
clicking "Browse All Items" at http://shop.monarchwatch.org or by
visiting http://shop.monarchwatch.org/store/c/364-All-Items.aspx
directly.
Each purchase at the Monarch Watch Shop helps support the
educational, conservation, and research programs developed and
maintained by Monarch Watch.
----------------------------------------------------------
Cleaning Up Our Email List
----------------------------------------------------------
Over the years, we've had a tremendous number of subscribers added to
our "Email Update" list - primarily via our website sign up form. The
problem with the old form was that it was often confused as a "search
our site" box and it did not confirm/verify any of the information
that was submitted. This resulted in a lot of bad addresses added to
the list with no easy way to identify and remove them.
In an effort to clean things up a bit we have added a new sign-up
form on our site's homepage for new "subscriptions" and we will be
sending out a message to existing subscribers over the next few
months. This will allow us to remove addresses that are bad for one
reason or another and it will give you the opportunity to unsubscribe
if you no longer wish to receive periodic updates from Monarch Watch
(or if you want to change the address at which you receive these
communications).
If you want to continue to receive mail from Monarch Watch and have a
valid email address, no action is required. All we ask is for your
patience as we sort this all out :-)
Thank you for your understanding and your continued support!
----------------------------------------------------------
About Monarch Watch
----------------------------------------------------------
Monarch Watch (http://monarchwatch.org) is a nonprofit education,
conservation, and research organization based at the University of
Kansas that focuses on the monarch butterfly, its habitat, and its
spectacular migration.
If you have any questions about this email or any of our programs
please feel free to contact us anytime.
Thank you for your continued interest and support!
Monarch Watch
http://monarchwatch.org
monarch@ku.edu
This e-mail may be reproduced, printed, or otherwise redistributed as
long as it is provided in full and without any modification. Requests
to do otherwise must be approved in writing by Monarch Watch.
The oldest and most respected native and wildlife gardening message board on Yahoo!
When is the last time you've visited the Native Gardening Group homepage? Participate in the discussion today by navigating to: <http://groups.yahoo.com/group/nativegardening>
To post a message to the Native Gardening group without visiting the homepage, please send an email message to: <mailto:nativegardening@yahoogroups.com>
To unsubscribe from the Native Gardening Group email list, send an email to: <mailto:nativegardening-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com>
Please ask your friends to subscribe to the Native Gardening Group! Just have them send an email to: <mailto:nativegardening-subscribe@yahoogroups.com>
Thank you, and happy gardening!
0 comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.