Media Release - Milkweed Collection and Planting

For immediate release September 21, 2023
Canadian Wildlife Federation and Lanark County Co-host Native Milkweed Collection and Planting Event

Perth, Ont. – On Saturday, community members of Lanark County gathered to celebrate the success of a $607,400 Grow grant awarded by the Ontario Trillium Foundation (OTF). Encouraging people to support a healthy and sustainable environment, this initiative is helping conservation and restoration efforts be better planned and more sustainable and has an impact on the lives of 22,000 people in the community.

“Anyone who has witnessed the transformation of a roadside pollination project from seeding to growth has seen firsthand the value of our efforts when we partner with nature,” said John Jordan, MPP for Lanark—Frontenac—Kingston. “The creation of native meadows mitigates the spread of Wild Parsnip and reduces roadside management cost while encouraging a healthy balance of pollinators including the majestic Monarch Butterfly on its journey across the continent. Thank you to Lanark County for your foresight and your commitment to strengthening a valuable and productive partnership.”

With the grant, awarded in 2020 for a three-year project, Lanark County employees received training and guidance from the Canadian Wildlife Federation to learn how to implement pollinator friendly approaches to corridor management. In doing so, Lanark County has restored the pollinator habitat, including demonstration meadows on the municipal grounds to educate the community of the value of naturalized areas.

“It’s been incredible to see the difference a few small changes to our management practices can make. We’ve been able to transform our roadsides into diverse habitat for pollinators of all kinds,” said Elizabeth Gallant, Climate Environmental Coordinator at Lanark County.

Creating native meadow habitat for the iconic Monarch Butterfly is an important action in improving biodiversity. At the event, members of the public were invited to learn how to harvest and plant native milkweed, which provides crucial nectaring and breeding habitat for Monarchs and many other at-risk pollinators.

“There is a role for everyone in monarch conservation,” said Victoria Woodhouse, Habitat Program Manager at the Canadian Wildlife Federation. “This event marks an important opportunity to celebrate the work being done by our partners making sustainable change in their organizations to restore pollinator habitat on working lands. It is also a chance to inform and educate the community through experiential learning on the significance of this restored habitat.”

For more information, visit HelptheMonarchs.ca.

About the Ontario Trillium Foundation:
The Ontario Trillium Foundation (OTF), an agency of the Government of Ontario, and one of Canada’s leading granting foundations celebrates 40 years of grant-making in Ontario and making a lasting impact in communities. Last year, OTF invested over $110M into 1,022 community projects and partnerships. Visit otf.ca to learn more.

About the Canadian Wildlife Federation:
The Canadian Wildlife Federation is a national, not-for-profit charitable organization dedicated to conserving Canada's wildlife and habitats for the use and enjoyment of all. By spreading knowledge of human impacts on wildlife and the environment, carrying out actions to conserve and restore species and habitats, developing and delivering conservation education programs, advocating for changes to government policy and programs, and co-operating with like-minded partners, CWF encourages a future in which Canadians can live in harmony with nature. For more information, visit CanadianWildlifeFederation.ca.

For more information, please contact:
Victoria Woodhouse, Habitat Program Manager Canadian Wildlife Federation 1.877.599.5777 x 202 victoriaw@cwf-fcf.org

Elizabeth Gallant, Climate Environmental Coordinator Lanark County 613.267.1353 x 3114 egallant@lanarkcounty.ca