Miles for Monarchs is a twice-yearly event held by Wild One’s partner, Monarch Joint Venture (MJV) that corresponds to the monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus) fall and spring migration. Each fall, North American monarchs travel 3,000 miles from their summer breeding grounds to overwintering locations. Learn more about the migration with MJV’s interactive map.
Miles for Monarchs is more than just a run—it’s a movement aimed at raising awareness and funds for the conservation of these iconic pollinators. The event invites individuals and teams to log miles as a symbolic representation of the long migration journey that monarch butterflies undertake each year. The fall “migration” will be hosted from August 28 – October 1.
Register to Join Team Wild Ones.
Date & Time: Thursday, August 10th, 2023, 9 AM – 4:30 PM CT, Location: 1207 Seminole Hwy, Madison, WI 53711, Fee: $265, Conducted by NDAL, New Directions in the American Landscape
Our visit will begin at the Darrel Morrison-designed Native Plant Garden. This 4-acre planting provides a masterfully designed miniaturization of the prairie and savanna landscapes we will explore later in the day. These will include the 73-acre Curtis Prairie and the 47-acre Green Prairie, two of the most renowned achievements in the history of ecological restoration. There we will conduct an in-depth examination of how these stunning prairie landscapes were conceived, planted, and managed. We will also visit part of the Grady Savanna near Greene Prairie, where extensive restoration has been in progress over the past decade.
This event is cosponsored by Wild Ones, whose members receive 10% off the registration fee (they can email info@ndal.org for the discount code). CEUs are available for landscape professionals, as well as student pricing.
Here is the In the Field Sessions landing page where you can view more details about the program and register.
Another bill the legislature passed this year sets up Highways for Habitat.
“The commissioner must establish a highways for habitat program to enhance roadsides with pollinator and other wildlife habitat and vegetative buffers.”
State roadside managers will be mandated to use integrated vegetation management practices and plant habitat for birds, pollinators and wildlife, for erosion control and pollution buffers. Our hope is to extend this program in the future to allow county and local roadways to voluntarily apply for funding to install roadside habitat.
This year the Minnesota Legislature passed a law that requires cities to allow homeowners to install and maintain “a managed natural landscape”. This is good news for homeowners and other property owners who have been reluctant to landscape with native plants because they didn’t want a citation from their city.
Get your orders in soon. May 1 is the last day for plant sale orders.
The Minnesota Board of Water and Soil Resources is now accepting applications for the Lawns to Legumes program, through Blue Thumb. Full details are on their site.
Many of us are itching to get out in the garden as this long winter is coming to an end. Read this article from the Xerces Society before you begin your garden cleanup: article
MPR News reports that researchers at the University of Minnesota have identified more than 500 bees that are native to Minnesota. It’s fascinating to learn how varied the bee population is and the amount of work required to collect and sort data to develop a definitive bee list. Who knew there’s a bee that is a trout lily specialist?
Read the article which also has some amazing photos.
Wild Ones writes:
We hope you are as excited as we are about the new designs for the ecoregions of Columbia River Basin, Grand Rapids, Greensboro, Lafayette, Las Cruces, Philadelphia, Portland, Princeton, Tucson and Washington, DC!
The designs were created with the premise that using native plants in landscaping can be beautiful, beneficial, and achievable for people of all skill levels and budgets.
We hope these plans will encourage, inspire, and motivate you to talk to others about how they can adopt sustainable landscaping practices that will help heal the Earth!
On February 3, 2023, the Minnesota Board of Soil and Water Resources announced the selection of 2,000 Minnesota residents to receive Individual Support grants through the Lawns to Legumes program.