ES02 – Bicycling with Butterflies

Sara Dykman made history in 2017 as the first person to bicycle alongside monarch butterflies as they made their 10,201-mile annual migration. She bicycled from Mexico through the United States to Canada—and back. A lifelong learner, Sara’s goal was to tell the monarch’s story through an amazing “butterbiking” adventure that included four flat tires, getting lost in New York City, and eating plenty of peanut butter. Along the way, she visited over 50 schools and nature centers showing over 9,000 students that anyone can be a scientist, conservationist, and adventurer. Join Sarah to discover what we can do to protect, preserve, and enhance the life of the mighty monarch. According to Sara, “My goal is to inspire people to see and appreciate what’s in their own yards. Too often we look, but don’t see.”

Sara Dykman, a native Kansan of Johnson County, is the founder of BeyondABook.org, which fosters lifelong learners, boundary pushers, explorers, and stewards. She is the winner of the 2021 National Outdoor Book Award. 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.