Monarch butterfly numbers are dwindling and have been for decades.
According to the Tennessee Department of Transportation, the pollinator’s population and sole source of food and habitat, milkweed, have declined by 90% since 1992 .
In June 2022, the International Union for Conservation of Nature announced the monarch butterfly had joined the Red List of Threatened Species as Endangered , marking the first time it had officially been declared at risk of extinction, according to a report from the Monarch Joint Venture, a multi-agency partnership focused on protecting the monarch migration across the United States.
But TDOT’s Project Milkweed wants to change that.
Project Milkweed
The department’s 2024 Milkweed Giveaway kicked off during National Pollinator Week in June.
An overwhelming response led to the distribution of 780,000 milkweed seed packets in 2023, an effort that sought to restore landscapes and preserve habitats for pollinator species.
However, less than half that amount, 350,000 seed packets, were available for giveaway this year.