Five Oakville teens who were praised earlier this year for creating a new foundation to preserve monarch butterflies, are back again with a large donation — this time to a national charity.
The Monarch Butterfly Eclipse Project, a foundation founded by Oakville Trafalgar High School students in 2023, donated $25,000 on Wednesday, Oct.30, 2024, to the Canadian Wildlife Federation. The money will go specifically to fund the charity's monarch recovery project.
"It's actually so fun to be able to now donate the money we raised," said Maggie Lentine, co-founder of the Monarch Butterfly Eclipse Project.
"Giving it to a group like the Monarch Butterfly Recovery project can directly help the preservation of monarch butterflies."
Lentine, along with Emilie Leclercq, Paige Denton, Ellen Lentine and Taylor Denton have committed to donating the $25,000 they raised over the span of five years.
Oakville News first reported on the Monarch Butterfly Eclipse Project back in April this year, when they close to 450,000 pairs of glasses leading up to the solar eclipse.
Read more here: Oakville high school students sell 450,000 glasses during solar eclipse
Since its inception in 2023, the Monarch Butterfly Eclipse project has raised funds in creative ways to support conserving monarch butterflies, like selling solar eclipse glasses earlier this year for the April 8 eclipse.
In just over a year, the foundation has supported environment-related charities and initiatives like OakvilleGreen and BurlingtonGreen.
"It makes us feel great that we can give back to the community," Lentine said.