Caterpillar Condo Program Takes Flight for the Fourth Year

For the fourth year in a row, Valero has sponsored the Caterpillar Condo for the Classroom Program in partnership with Blooming with Birdie, an organization that combines the holistic, hands-on approach of Montessori with the social-emotional and entertaining approach of Mister Rogers to provide quality STEM learning experiences for students.

This school year, Valero funding provided over 100 San Antonio-area teachers at Title I schools the opportunity to receive the program's curriculum and supplies at no cost. As they observed the metamorphosis of a live Monarch butterfly, benefitting students developed a special connection to nature, learned the importance of conservation and pollinators to the environment, and became citizen scientists. Since the program's inception, Valero has sponsored 260+ classrooms, touching the lives of hundreds of disadvantaged students.

Educators from classrooms pre-K to fourth grade attended a teacher training where they received caterpillar condos for their classroom, butterfly tagging materials, associated hands-on, nature-based digital curriculum in English and Spanish, and a Valero fuel card thanking each teacher for their participation.