
Riffing on the Got Milk campaign, the David Suzuki Foundation has launched the Got Milkweed campaign in an effort to help save the dwindling monarch butterfly population. Female monarchs lay their eggs on milkweed plants which also provide food for the caterpillars. Milkweed has nearly been wiped out, so the Foundation is encouraging all gardeners to grow more. As with the butterfly, so with the plant. More info and links below.
We want you to plant milkweed in your neighbourhood. Start with your garden or balcony. Ask your neighbours, local parks and school groups if they’ve #gotmilkweed.
If you live in Toronto, you can buy milkweed plants during April, while supplies last, and pick them up at a fun event on May 24.
Live elsewhere? Call your local garden centre and ask them to stock milkweed native to your region. Or you can contribute to the #gotmilkweed campaign and we’ll plant milkweed on your behalf.
You have three options:
1. BUY A MILKWEED PLANT FOR $5: Purchase milkweed plants (in bigger, four-inch pots this year!) online during the month of April.
2. GET A #GOTMILKWEED KIT FOR $100: A kit includes 20 milkweed plants, #gotmilkweed stickers and great resources for butterfly gardening — perfect for planting milkweed at your school, park or workplace.
3. FOR $25 WE’LL PLANT MILKWEED ON YOUR BEHALF: Support the campaign with a donation so our Homegrown Park Rangers can plant milkweed as part of the Homegrown National Park Project.
All plants and kits must be picked up on Sunday, May 24 at Toronto’s Christie Pits Park.
More info here. Also, great photos and more information on monarch butterflies on the Houston Museum of Natural Science blog.