Children take a great deal of care and enjoyment in looking after the caterpillars in the butterfly house that we have in our back garden. On a daily basis, they will ask to go and check what is happening and release any butterflies that are there.
We have swan plants in our garden so there is plenty of food for them. We also grow flowers to be ready as they emerge. In the last year, we have let go of more than 200 butterflies; now there are 200 ‘overwintering’ in trees nearby. This whole process makes an impact on the children as they want to learn more about our ever transforming and emerging friends. Children gain confidence in groups when their attention is captured by something that interests them fully.
From March, it is time to tag butterflies. If you see one with a sticker on its wing, do record its code, and report it on the website, www.mb.org.nz. Our children practice tagging pretend butterflies with coded stickers. In this way, we are all part of the research on what these important pollinators get up to in winter.
