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Collecting milkweed pods provides butterfly habitat, filling for pillows
MAYWOOD, Neb. -- Wild milkweed adorns the roadsides and fields in Maywood and the surrounding area, but it’s more than a pretty plant, or as some may think, a pesky weed. Milkweed promises extra income for those who are willing to pick its pods when the time is right. Local resident, Annette Wood, is spearheading the first Community Conservation wild milkweed collection effort in the area for Sustainable Monarch, a nonprofit in North Platte.
“I was looking for a fundraiser for our daughter’s sophomore class when Debbie approached me about the Community Conservation program through her nonprofit.” noted Wood, “Instead of pushing cookie dough or other items for people to buy, we have whole families getting out into Nature and picking milkweed pods. We found two monarch caterpillars yesterday, so we are learning about the environment and the monarch’s migration.”
“Monarch butterflies need milkweed, the caterpillar’s sole food source, along their migration route from Mexico to Canada.” said Debbie Dekleva, founder of Sustainable Monarch. “The loss of habitat across the United States has created a need for local milkweed seed to restore the landscapes. We help communities work with Nature and make money at the same time.”
“Our class is always looking for ways to raise money.” said Alexis Wood, class Vice President of the sophomore class at Maywood High School, “We probably could have done a raffle or sold something and made as much money with fewer man hours, but its not always about that. My parents have always taught me that you should leave a place better than you found it. That is our class’ mission with this fundraiser. We get to make a few bucks, but in the end, it’s our environment that is richer.”
Diverse and unique products are made with the floss. Ogallala Comfort is the longest standing milkweed business in history using milkweed floss in luxury down comforters and pillows. Forward and innovative thinking captures the spirit of Monarch Flyway, the sponsor of the Maywood Community Conservation program. “As demand for our products has increased, so has our need for milkweed pods.” stated Marlee Waugh, Sales Manager for Ogallala Comfort. “The seed supports habitat restoration.” she added.
“We’ve modeled our Community Conservation program after milkweed collections from WWII.” said Dekleva, “People picked milkweed pods, put them in onion sacks, and shipped them to a processing facility where they would make life jackets in Michigan.” Collecting milkweed pods for the war effort was considered very patriotic. School children and adults all worked together. “Two bags save one life.” Was the motto of the day because two bags of milkweed made one life jacket for a serviceman.
Normally, the pod picking window is about 4-6 weeks starting in September when the seeds have turned brown in a freshly picked pod. With the unseasonably cold weather we had a couple weeks ago, the harvest will probably be shorter this year because the pods will open sooner.
Wood provides empty onion bags to her group and collects the bags once they are full. “We are considering a competition between the parents and kids as to who can pick the most.” says Wood “We have a pretty competitive group, so it could get crazy here.”
Protecting milkweed is important for a healthy monarch population. Using sustainably harvested milkweed in habitat restoration projects helps rural communities and the monarch migration.
So far, Wood’s sophomore class has collected over 300# of milkweed pods. Community Conservation programs are hosted in Michigan, Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Pennsylvania. Some community programs are able to collect over 80,000# of milkweed pods in one season.
“As the Community Conservation programs age, milkweed becomes more prevalent so each year, they are able to bring in more pods.” added Dekleva, “People actively plant and protect milkweed in these areas, because it helps them and the monarch migration.”