The Hilltop Conservancy was recently awarded 128 milkweed seedlings by Monarch Watch, the volunteer-based citizen science organization that tracks the fall migration of the Monarch butterfly.
Milkweed is the only host plant for Monarch caterpillars. The 10-acre meadow in the Hilltop is already designated as a Monarch Waystation.
In an effort to increase the amount of milkweed in other parts of the Reservation, last Saturday volunteers from the Hilltop Conservancy planted the milkweed seedlings in the restoration area near Prisoner’s Pond.
The Hilltop Conservancy is an all-volunteer group that is restoring the woodlands and meadows on the west side of Verona. It has removed invasive plants and diseases or damaged trees, while restoring meadows and planting new trees so that the Hilltop can be used for walking, hiking and other kinds of passive recreation. You can learn more about its work here.
