The Dr. Bettye Myers Butterfly Garden and Professor Jeff Robb Outdoor Classroom

Supporting Pollinator Education, Outreach, Research, and Conservation  

At Texas Woman's University, the Dr. Bettye Myers Butterfly Garden and Professor Jeff Robb Outdoor Classroom educates students and members of the community, helping them become active citizens in finding solutions to current environmental issues. Our gardens not only create habitats for pollinators but serve as educational observatories and research laboratories. The gardens also contribute to water conservation by using native and other drought-resistant plants, and pollution reduction by eliminating the use of pesticides and fertilizers. The TWU Denton campus is situated in the monarch butterfly migration pathway; planting milkweed waystations in the gardens contributes to enhancing the monarch butterfly population, which is currently in significant decline. 

Your support will allow us to purchase items for the garden, including benches, trees, plants, and mulch, as well as maintain the garden and further develop educational and research programs.

Environmental and Ecological Research at TWU

Student research activities in the pollinator gardens include species censuses, water and soil testing, and other environmental and ecological studies. As we teach our students about sustainability and environmental responsibility, we will develop educational tools for the public (other universities, K-12 schools, businesses, etc.) to learn water conservation practices and preservation or restoration of wildlife habitat for their own properties. The creation of pollinator habitats in the community will have a positive impact on people. Investment in greenspaces helps reduce stress and anxiety, helps clean the air, treats stormwater runoff, provides educational and learning opportunities to our communities, and raises property values. Given Texas’s unique position along the monarch migration route, TWU and its partners are taking a leadership role in conserving and enhancing habitat for the iconic monarch butterfly for the good of the people and the planet.

Outcomes include:

• Improving environmental literacy by providing students with hands-on learning environments (learn by doing) 
• Creating sustainable habitats for pollinators to increase their populations and establishing partner pollinator habitats
• Increasing civic responsibility for habitat restoration, preservation, and environmental protection
• Building a database of plant-pollinators in the area, including their importance for farmland 
• Publishing research results in scientific journals and disseminating information to land managers and policymakers
• Developing a step-by-step guide for transforming traditional lawns into pollinator gardens.