The Milkweed Adoption Program

Want to become a citizen scientists AND help monarch butterflies? Join the Milkweed Adoption Project.

The David Suzuki Foundation and University of Toronto-Scarborough are excited to team up to learn more about milkweed in the city -- and we need your help!

As part of the Butterflyway Project, DSF will be providing two milkweed plants for up to 200 households in Toronto.

Participants will plant the milkweed in their gardens this summer and commit to reporting when the plants being to flower and go to seed next year.

UTSC will use this citizen-reported data to better understand how the built environment affects pollinator-friendly plants.

Milkweed supports a wide range of pollinators, like wild bees and hummingbirds, and is the plant that monarch butterflies depend on for survival.

The plants are free and will be available for pickup up on July 5 from 3-7 pm at the Fairmont Market in Greenwood Park or in Christie Pits Park from 5-8 pm on July 6.

To reserve your milkweed plants, you must fill out the form at this link prior to pickup. Supplies are limited, so please sign up ASAP.

Online Form - Butterflyway Milkweed Adoption ProgramOnline Form Builder

What are we studying?

In cities, variability in temperature due to the structure of the built environment leads to changes in flowering time and seed set of different plants we use in gardening and pollinator habitat.

In this study we are interested in working with citizen scientists to track the phenology of swamp milkweed (Asclepius incarnata) across the city of Toronto and its contribution to pollinator habitat.

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