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CASE STUDY - ENVIRONMENTAL CONSERVATION

Little Wings: monarch data anyone can explore

We rebuilt littlewings.ca as a data site. Nine interactive visualizations show where monarch butterflies travel, where they breed and what is being done to protect them, told clearly for readers of every age.

 

386,118

monarch sightings mapped, 2016 to 2026

 

9

interactive visualizations

 

3

countries: Canada, the US and Mexico

 

9

narrated audio tours, one per chart

THE STORY

From seed packets to data

The client

Little Wings started in 2019 by mailing free milkweed seed to anyone who asked. It was founded by Michael Halbmeier, who also founded Clear Digital.

The challenge

The seed and school programs were ending. Little Wings needed a new way to help: show people what is really happening to monarchs.

What we built

A new data site with nine interactive charts and maps, a Kids corner and a garden guide, all built from open data.

THE VISUALIZATIONS

Nine ways to see the monarch story

Each one is live on littlewings.ca. Click a picture to open it.

The Journey: a dark map of North America dotted with monarch sightings, with month and view buttons above it.

CHART 1 OF 9

The Journey

386,118 real monarch sightings across Canada, the US and Mexico, 2016 to 2026. Pick a month and watch them move.

Explore it on Little Wings

Two populations: a line chart comparing the eastern forest area and the western monarch count over about thirty winters.

CHART 2 OF 9

Two populations, thirty winters

The Mexico winter colonies back to 1993 and the Western Monarch Count back to 1997, on one scale.

Explore it on Little Wings

How much forest do they fill: a grid of squares, some filled with monarchs, with headline figures below.

CHART 3 OF 9

How much forest do they fill?

Last winter's 2.93 hectares of colonies, shown as squares you can count and soccer fields you can picture.

Explore it on Little Wings

Where monarchs breed in Canada: a map of Canada shaded by province, beside a ranked list and a monthly chart.

CHART 4 OF 9

Where monarchs breed in Canada

Eggs, caterpillars and chrysalises reported across Canada, by province and by month.

Explore it on Little Wings

Who is helping: a map of the United States shaded by habitat acres, beside a ranked list of states.

CHART 5 OF 9

Who is helping?

Thousands of monarch habitat projects across the United States, added up county by county.

Explore it on Little Wings

Three countries, three answers: a map of Mexico, Canada and the United States beside three status cards.

CHART 6 OF 9

Three countries, three answers

How Mexico, Canada and the United States each protect the monarch, with a clickable map and timeline.

Explore it on Little Wings

No milkweed, no monarchs: a circular week-by-week chart of the Ontario monarch season.

CHART 7 OF 9

No milkweed, no monarchs

The Ontario monarch year, week by week: milkweed, eggs, caterpillars and adults.

Explore it on Little Wings

Riding the wind: wind streaks moving over Lake Erie and southern Ontario, with play and speed controls.

CHART 8 OF 9

Riding the wind

A real cold front over Lake Erie in October 2026, from Environment Canada's weather model.

Explore it on Little Wings

Following one monarch at a time: a route map from Long Point to Mexico beside a timeline.

CHART 9 OF 9

Following one monarch at a time

The radio-tracking story from Long Point, Ontario, built from published facts.

Explore it on Little Wings

BUILT IN

More than charts

Little Wings is made to be explored by families, students and nature lovers, not just scientists.

  • A narrated audio tour on every chart
  • Every number from a named, credited source
  • Sightings that refresh every week on their own
  • A Kids corner with games and colouring pages
  • A native milkweed finder by province
  • Donations built into the same site

REAL DATA

Every number has a source

Little Wings uses open data and published facts only. A Data and Credits page lists every dataset, its licence and how often it is updated.

See the Data and Credits page

  • GBIF (monarch and milkweed sightings)
  • WWF-Mexico and CONANP, compiled by Monarch Watch
  • Xerces Society Western Monarch Count
  • U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
  • Environment and Climate Change Canada

Have conservation data people should see?

Tell us about your data and who needs to understand it. We will show you what it could become.