​A group of Oakville Trafalgar High School students are using the popularity of tomorrow’s rare total solar eclipse to raise awareness for the protection of endangered monarch butterflies.

Students Paige Denton (Grade 10), Emilie Leclercq (Grade 11 in Halton Catholic DSB), Maggie Lentine (Grade 11), Taylor Denton (Grade 11) and Ellen Lentine (Grade 11) are spearheading this initiative they hope will bring much needed attention to the plight of butterflies.

“The initiative started when we realized that the 2024 total solar eclipse that passes over Mexico, the United States and Canada mimics the monarch butterfly migration path,” explains Maggie Lentine. “We combined these two things together and developed glasses to view the solar eclipse that are safety certified, which means they are safe to view the eclipse with. We then created a website for customers to be able to purchase them. One of the best parts was that we decided we would send all the net profits to help save the endangered monarch butterfly. We started selling the glasses to the public, universities, school boards, businesses, and everybody on the path of the total solar eclipse.”

The group says 100 per cent of the net profits received from glasses sales will go toward the monarch butterflies initiative. 

“Our project focuses on helping the endangered monarch butterfly,” says Paige. 

Through this project, Emilie says the group of students want people to understand the importance of preserving important habitats for animals and insects.

“When humans use pesticides, it kills or injures the creatures so I want people to plant more milkweed and keep a natural habitat for the monarch butterflies to feed and reproduce since they are one of our main pollinators.”

Ellen expands more on the importance of monarch butterfly pollination.

“Monarch butterflies are one of our greatest pollinators. Without pollinators, crops and flowers would not exist. Monarch butterflies are a big part of nature and help with our ecosystem. The migration path that the monarch butterfly travels is from Mexico through the U.S. and to Canada. Out of a pure coincidence, the total solar eclipse path mirrors the monarch butterfly’s migration. This inspired us to help support the monarchs through our project.”

Taylor says it’s important especially for fellow students to consider the plight of the monarch butterfly as they experience the total solar eclipse today.

“We think it is very important for students to be able to see fellow students advocating for an issue that they believe is important. It’s important for students to find what they are passionate about and be able to engage in this passion. Seeing others do projects they are passionate about is motivating and inspiring, and can lead others to take on their own projects.”