The Monarch is the only butterfly on Earth to make a two-way migration across North America, but it’s a journey no single individual can finish alone. This 6,000-mile odyssey is a trans-generational relay race, requiring multiple generations to complete the loop from Mexico to Canada, and back again. A crucial pitstop on this voyage is Big Meadows in Shenandoah—an open landscape first cleared by Indigenous hunter-gatherers nearly 9,000 years ago. Here, the butterflies seek out milkweed to lay their eggs. While this plant is poisonous to most creatures, the hatched caterpillars thrive on it, absorbing toxins and developing bold black and yellow stripes that warn predators to stay away. Guided by a mysterious biological compass, the next generation takes up the torch and continues one of nature's most epic voyages. Shenandoah is produced by Orange Frame Productions, presented and co-produced by VPM, with the cooperation of Shenandoah National Park. The documentary premieres on the PBS ...