Big Muddy Speaker Series

Presentation by Sara Dykman, Beyond A Book Expeditions

Tuesday, September 26, 2017

Where – Special Location this month!!!
Anita B. Gorman Conservation Discovery Center – 4750 Troost Ave, Kansas City, MO 64110

6 p.m. – Social Hour
7 p.m. – Presentation. Presentation will be filmed

PLUS – This presentation audio will be streaming live on KCDV.tv!
(See past videos here)

Presentation is FREE and open to the public!

Join us for a special presentation with a very special woman. Sara Dykman has spent the year biking the migration path of monarch butterflies, 11,000 miles from the mountains of Mexico to the lakes of Canada and back. She is now on her way back south and is making a stop in Kansas City to share her insights with us.

Monarchs in Michoacan hit the air after a winter of hunkering down in the oyamel fir forests. photo by Sara Dykman, Beyond A Book Expeditions.

Folks are invited to come learn about the great migration, hear stories from the road, check out her bike set up, and learn how they can be part of the migration too.

The goal of Butterbike is to connect folks to the migration and encourage everyone living with the monarch to share their yards and provide habitat for the yearly visitors. By planting native plants for the adults to nectar on and milkweed plants for the caterpillars, the monarch is a wonderful way to link our lives to nature, science, and conservation. The monarch migration has suffered dramatic declines in recent years and a national effort is underway to maintain populations and give future generations the opportunity to see the monarchs and marvel at their amazing journey.

Besides presentations to schools and the general public, Sara is also writing a blog, posting photos, and making fun, educational (and recently award-winning!) videos. She continues to be inspired by the diversity of the planet and the passion of folks working to protect it.

Learn more about ButterBike at www.beyondabook.org. Follow Sara on Facebook @beyondabook

About Sara

Sara divides her time between working seasonal amphibian and reptile jobs, teaching outdoor education, and going on adventures. She created Beyond A Book, to act as an umbrella to include all her education-linked adventures, which besides Butterbike include a source to sea canoe trip on the Missouri and Mississippi River and a 49 state bicycle tour. She has also biked from Bolivia to Texas, and walked from Mexico to Canada. Originally from Kansas City, she is inspired by the ever growing community of Missouri River and wildlife (including monarchs!) supporters and enthusiasts.

The map showing Sara Dykman’s route following the monarch butterfly migration by bike.

This drawing was done for our presentation by artist George Martin

Directions

Anita Gorman Conservation Discovery Center – 4750 Troost Ave, Kansas City, MO 64110

Just a 10-minute walk from the Plaza shopping area, the Discovery Center is a unique, hands-on, urban conservation education center located on eight acres in the heart of Kansas City. It is on Troost Ave., between Emanuel Cleaver II Blvd and Volker Blvd.

From the East (I-70) – 

• Take I-70 East to Exit 8A to merge onto I-435 S (toward Wichita). 
• Take exit 65 for Eastwood Tfwy and turn right onto Eastwood. 
• Turn right onto Blue Pkwy (turns into Swope Pkwy then Volker Blvd) and continue 3.4 miles to Troost Ave.
• Take a right on Troost Ave. then a left into the Discovery Center – 4750 Troost Ave.

From Downtown – 

• From I-70, head south on Hwy 71.
• After 4 miles, use the right lane to take exit 190 toward Emanuel Cleaver II Blvd/Swope Pkwy. Take a right onto Emanual Cleaver II Blvd. 
• Turn left onto Troost Ave. Take a right into the Discovery Center – 4750 Troost Ave.

Google Map