October 6-8, 2014
P.O. Box 685289 | Austin, Texas | 78768
T: 512.467.7979 | F: 512.451.0754
sxsweco.com
SXSW ECO HACKATHON PRESENTED BY WORLD WILDLIFE FUND
Background:
Known by scientists as Danaus plexippus, which in Greek literally means "sleepy
transformation," the monarch butterfly is anything but sleepy.
Monarch butterflies embark on a marvelous and unusual migratory phenomenon. Every year,
at the end of the summer the monarchs begin a journey to their wintering habitat. Flying farther
than any other tropical butterfly, the monarchs travel nearly 3,000 miles from the United States
and Canada to the central Mexican forests. Often settling on the exact same sites as their
great grandparents did the year before, the butterflies hibernate in the mountain forests, where
a less extreme climate provides them a better chance to survive. In spring, they mate and
begin their journey north, laying their eggs on milkweed plants along the way.
As recent research shows (http://www.worldwildlife.org/stories/monarch-population-hits-lowestpoint-in-more-than-20-years), the migratory monarch population is the lowest it’s been in the
last two decades. There are multiple reasons for the decline, including extreme climate events
in the U.S. and Canada as well as deforestation in Mexico. Yet the biggest threat is the
widespread extermination along the monarch’s long migratory route of milkweed, a flowering
plant critical to monarch butterfly reproduction and development.
The loss of milkweed in particular and habitat for reproduction and development of monarchs
in general is due to multiple factors including the expansion of agriculture acreage along the
migratory route, use of pesticides and other agricultural practices, conversion of land for urban
expansion, right of way management for highways and power lines.
You Can Help:
During the SXSW Eco Hackathon Presented by World Wildlife Fund, we are asking for help to
engage the American public overcome the following challenges:
Rebuilding the Monarch’s Milkweed Pathway: The monarch butterflies would have a much
stronger chance at survival if they had access to the right kind of milkweed along their
migratory route. Can we help Americans easily answer the following questions: What kind of
milkweed do I buy? How do I plant it? How do I take care of it? Where do I buy it? Where are
the monarchs? When will I see them? Can we mobilize Americans to build monarch habitats
and encourage their friends and communities to help?
Encouraging Citizen Engagement: We not only want to grow more milkweed across the
U.S., but we also want to build more monarch enthusiasts and engage them in monarch
conservation and as citizen scientists. With the help of citizen scientists, researchers could
better understand the monarchs if they knew in real-time where, when, and how many
monarchs were spotted. Can we turn monarch spotting and identification into a game? Can we
leverage the power of social media to build awareness and enthusiasm for one of the longest
migrations in the world? Can we connect citizen scientists to information about what their state
is doing for large-scale milkweed planting? How can we let citizens know about the latest
monarch news?
Schedule:
Sunday October 5th | 10am–8pm – Hackathon at Palm Door on Sabine (remote teams
possible)
Monday October 6th | 3pm–5:45pm – Presentation of results and public voting period
Tuesday October 7th | 6pm–7:30pm – SXSW Eco Awards – Hackathon winner is presented
Credentials:
All participating hackers will receive complimentary SXSW Eco badges to attend
SIGN UP HERE BY OCT 1ST 2014: http://bit.ly/1AS08mM
SXSW Conferences and Festivals P.O. Box 685289 | Austin, Texas | 78768
T: 512.467.7979 | F: 512.451.0754 | sxsw.com
Application Goals:
Engage the public on monarch conservation by providing users with an easy way to
answer these questions:
• Which milkweed should I buy for my climate and yard?
• How do I plant and take care of the milkweed?
• Where and when can I see monarchs near me?
• How do the monarchs migrate and why are they under threat?
• Where can I find more information about monarchs and how can I do more?
• How do I identify a monarch butterfly?
• What is my state doing for large-scale milkweed planting?
• What is the latest news about monarchs?
• How can I help my community protect monarchs?
Empower citizen scientists to gather data on the timing and location of monarch
butterflies, throughout their range. This effort will provide invaluable data on changing
migratory patterns in an ever changing world. We envision an app that could collect the
following field data:
• Photo of the individual monarch (to confirm identification)
• Location
• Date and time
• Weather
• Life stage (egg, larva, pupa, adult)
• Number of butterflies seen
• Type of habitat (are you in a park? In a private garden? On a city street? On a farm?,
etc)
• Photo of plant the butterfly is on
• Type of milkweed (if butterfly is on milkweed plant)
Exciting areas to explore and help include (but are not limited to – be creative!):
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Create an app to engage citizen scientists in monarch conservation and be compatible
with existing citizen science websites
Track monarch migration through social media ("post to Facebook" option when they
discover a monarch)
Help connect users with local nurseries for milkweed plants and local support
Create a game to engage users with the monarch migration
Create a social network for monarch spotting and help create monarch habitats
Connect users with information about what their local municipality is doing to protect
monarchs
SXSW Conferences and Festivals P.O. Box 685289 | Austin, Texas | 78768
T: 512.467.7979 | F: 512.451.0754 | sxsw.com
Citizen Scientist Tracking Sites:
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Monarch Larva Monitoring Project: http://mlmp.org/
Butterflies and Moths of North America: http://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/
Journey North: http://www.learner.org/jnorth/
Monarch Health: http://www.monarchparasites.org/
The North American Butterfly Monitoring Network: http://www.nab-net.org/
Data resources:
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http://monarchjointventure.org/
http://mlmp.org
https://plants.usda.gov/java/
http://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/
https://www.usanpn.org/
http://www.monarchparasites.org/
http://www.xerces.org/milkweed-seed-finder/
http://www.pollinator.org/monarchs.htm
Articles:
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http://www.worldwildlife.org/stories/monarch-population-hits-lowest-point-in-more-than20-years
http://www.sciencefriday.com/blogs/04/11/2013/mapping-the-monarchs.html
http://sciencefriday.com/blogs/04/10/2013/milkweed-for-monarchs.html?series=23
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/climate-change-may-disrupt-monarchbutterfly-migration/
http://monarchjointventure.org/threats/climate-change/
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/30/us/monarch-butterflies-falter-under-extremeweather.html?_r=2
http://altizerlab.uga.edu/Research/
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/02/110216171001.htm
SXSW Conferences and Festivals P.O. Box 685289 | Austin, Texas | 78768
T: 512.467.7979 | F: 512.451.0754 | sxsw.com