The Ohio Pollinator Habitat Initiative is seeking public help to collect and drop off common and swamp milkweed seed pods from established plants from Sept. 1 through Oct. 30.
There are collection stations around the state, including a local site at the Logan Soil and Water Conservation District, 324 County Road 11, which is open weekdays 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
The collection effort is taking place to address the drastic decline in the population of the monarch butterfly. The collected seeds will be used to establish new plantings and create additional habitat for the monarch butterfly throughout Ohio in the coming years.
“Common and swamp milkweed is essential to the survival of monarch butterflies in Ohio,” said Marci Lininger, biologist with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. “Ohio is a priority area for monarchs. This generation of monarchs are also responsible for starting the life cycle all over again in the spring, and laying the following year’s first generation of monarchs in late summer.”
Read complete story in Thursday’s Examiner.
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For more information, contact the Logan Soil and Water Conservation District at 404-3150 or visit www.co.logan.oh.us/454/Soil-Water-Conservation-District.