How to Grow a Conservationist

By Taylor Bennet, Exhibit Interpreter at Butterfly Pavilion

When asked “why visit Wings of the Tropics?” many people will tell you they come for the thrill of being chosen as a butterfly’s perch or for the simple joy of exploring the tropics.

But what may be less apparent at first glance is how simply having fun exploring our conservatory and interacting with butterflies that call it home, you and your kids are making valuable connections to local and global conservation.

Butterfly Pavilion exists to foster an appreciation of invertebrates, and one of the best ways we can do that is by getting you up close and personal with our butterflies, moths, chrysalides and plants. While wandering our rainforest you might see for the first time the small tree that provides the coffee that fuels your busy day. And if you stick around for our Rainforest Walking Tour, you will discover the environmental benefits of naturally shade-grown coffee. You could find yourself learning about the sustainability of butterfly farming, or how we can protect butterflies by creating pollinator districts. Whatever your take-away, it can sometimes be difficult to communicate these important messages to young kids. Fear not, though, because your child is gaining just as much conservation knowledge as you are, only in different ways.

Guiding safe interactions with our butterflies by encouraging no harm and mindful exploration begins instilling respect for these and other insects from a young age. When children discover for themselves that being kind to a butterfly means they get to watch it dance through the sky or walk along the trails with them, they are learning the fundamentals of conservation. When children see butterflies feeding on nectar from the flowers they chose not to pick, they are beginning to understand the importance of habitat preservation. These lessons may seem intangible in the moment, but over time this exploration of a living, breathing rainforest and its inhabitants can grow into a desire to protect and care for these forms of life.

As adults, it’s easy to attribute our environmentally-friendly attitudes to the education we may have received on recycling, ecology, deforestation, etc. While these are all great topics to learn about, research has shown that conservation-minded adults actually gain their tendencies as children by exploring nature first-hand. However, living in an increasingly urban area can make it difficult to provide today’s children with enough of this type of nature play. Butterfly Pavilion’s forested conservatory fills this important niche by creating space for this type of inquiry. In this space, different age groups will go about investigation and learning in unique ways that most benefit their needs.

For children up to three years old, it is important to begin building a conservation-based outlook by simply helping them discover that animals are fascinating. They can begin to learn this through sensory exploration; taking in the sights, smells and feel of a tropical rainforest. Come spring, children in this age group may even start to recognize butterflies that they saw in our conservatory, like Painted Ladies or Tiger Swallowtails, flying around their own backyard! As they get a little older, they will start to draw connections between these butterflies and the habitats they live in. Children as young as four to seven years old will be able to observe areas like our chrysalis chamber and begin to understand butterfly lifecycles. It is also at this age that children can start to grasp ideas like recycling and conserving energy. As they continue to grow older, children’s’ capacity to learn and appreciate more complex conservation messages increases as well, but the foundation for this caring and understanding starts before they may even be able to walk.

Our butterfly conservatory always has something new to see and explore no matter your age and our passionate exhibit interpreters will be there every step of the way to guide you to your next “Aha!” moment. Whether you are learning about butterfly farming on the other side of the world or the Monarch migration right here in Colorado, studying the intricate design of a butterfly’s wings or sitting back and watching them glide from flower to flower, you and your children are building connections to conservation that will last a lifetime.

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