It’s that time again! The Ohio Pollinator Habitat Initiative is calling on Ohioans to help with milkweed pod collections. This project started in 2015 as a seven-county pilot and since that time hundreds of Ohioans have worked together collecting thousands of pods across the state. Volunteers have collected approximately 5000 gallons of common milkweed seed pods, totaling over 22 million seeds.
Milkweed is the only host plant for the Monarch butterfly for egg laying and caterpillar rearing. It also serves as a food source for Monarchs as well as many other pollinator species. The disappearance of milkweed across the U.S. has contributed to the 80% decline of the eastern monarch butterfly population over the last 20 years.
Want to help collect milkweed seed pods for pollinators, but aren’t quite sure what to look for in the field? Watch this video about how to go about collecting seed pods and you’ll be a pro: http://ow.ly/EOzp50BnvQG
