The Raven teams up with Monarch Watch to present outdoor educator Sara Dykman and her new book Bicycling with Butterflies  in conversation with renowned researcher Chip Taylor, founder of Monarch Watch. Don't miss this fun and fascinating night of travel, science, and butterflies!

Deftly combining travel memoir and popular science, Bicycling with Butterflies (Timber Press, April 2021)  recounts Dykman’s inspirational ride alongside the monarchs. The cast of characters includes eager schoolchildren, devoted citizen scientists, skeptical bar patrons, fellow bicyclists. climate deniers, unimpressed border officials, and  -of course- millions of monarchs. Dykman passionately shares the urgent plight of the monarchs and the complex science underpinning their dwindling numbers. Filled with optimism, energy, and hope, Bicycling with Butterflies is a compelling story, confirming the urgency of saving the threatened monarch migration—and the other threatened systems of nature that affect the survival of us all. “It is part science, part adventure, part love letter to nature,” Dykman explained. “I hope readers will come away with a deeper sense of connection to the land and be inspired to join the team taking care of our planet.”

Sara Dykman is the founder of beyondabook.org, which fosters lifelong learners, boundary pushers, explorers, and stewards. She works in amphibian research and as an outdoor educator, guiding young people into nature so they can delight in its complicated brilliance. She hopes her own adventures—walking from Mexico to Canada, canoeing the Missouri River from source to sea, and cycling over 80,000 miles across North and South America (including the monarch migration trip)—will empower young and old to dream big.

Chip Taylor is an Emeritus Professor in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at the University of Kansas. Trained as an insect ecologist, his research projects have included studies of reproductive isolating mechanisms in sulfur butterflies, reproductive and life history patterns in plants, comparative biology of European and Neotropical African honey bees (killer bees) and migratory behavior of monarch butterflies. In 1992, Taylor founded Monarch Watch, an outreach program focused on education, research and conservation of monarch butterflies. The tagging program administered by Monarch Watch has yielded many new insights about the monarch migration.

Bicycling with Butterflies: Sara Dykman in conversation with Chip Taylor, presented by Monarch Watch & Raven Book Store