Natalie and Callie, both 13 years old, started raising monarch butterflies for fun in 2020.
But after realizing the monarchs were an endangered species, their 1 soon turned into a serious mission.
They learned that the population of monarch butterflies had 2 since the early 1990s, due to habitat 3 and widespread use of chemicals, which made the milkweeds (马利筋草)that the monarchs 4 for their main diet dangerous to eat.
So the girls teamed up with a national nonprofit group to plant a native garden 5 for the monarchs. The garden grew organic milkweeds that 6 and kept the butterflies. To help 7 the locals to sustain the monarch population, they created an exhibition about the monarchs in the local library. They also wanted to put up an educational sign in town, but it 8 a lot. To cover the expense, they set up a stand at the Farmers Market to sell their healthy milkweeds for people to 9 . Although the fund-raising days were 10 , they finally succeeded in earning enough money with their hard work and people's support.
The team has won the Silver Award for their 11 of taking care of butterflies, but they are not 12 with their work. "Our next step is to cut down on the use of 13 to guarantee a safe environment for the monarchs," said Natalie. In the award ceremony, their teacher Brian 14 , "I am so proud of them for their constant 15 ."
a change in our bad habits, we must first our bad habit cycles and then try adapt them.
A lot of people admired our neighbor. One day a delivery truck unloaded a large 1 system at their house. And the kids discussed the new sound equipment my neighbor had just bought. Meantime, we were living in a house decorated 2 and dressing our kids in second-hand clothes. We lived a 3 life.
My poor mother-in-law, in town for a visit, got to hear my complaints that night. "I feel so 4 sometimes," I told her, as we 5 the table after dinner. "I know we're doing the right thing, living frugally (节俭的), saving money, but it feels so hard. There're so many things I'd like to 6 , so many things I'd like to do, but we just can't."
She 7 as she folded a cloth napkin in silence. Then she turned to me and said, "When you make a comparison between yourself and others, it's easy to 8 what you don't have. But there's one thing you two do that many other couples may 9 to do. You two often go out together and take time to focus on your 10 . And that's a very important thing."
I stopped wiping the table and 11 for a minute. I thought of the movie my husband and I had seen a week earlier. I 12 the bike rides, the hikes and the picnics. Most of all, I remembered how 13 we were together, even after twenty years. How many people can say that?
I looked around my home in a new 14 . Our refrigerator was too small for a family of six, but it was 15 filled with delicious food. Our kitchen was small and we had no big TV, but we're happy! And that's enough!