 Regal Fritillary butterfly. / Photo Credit: Armund Bartz
We are looking for gardeners to grow violets and collect their seed!
Use your gardening skills to grow prairie violet plants (Viola pedatifida) in your garden, collect the seed, and help Regal Fritillaries at the Hogback Prairie State Natural Area in Crawford County.
Commitment: This is a significant commitment that can make a substantial impact. The grower would need to spend a small amount of time collecting seeds every day or at least every other day throughout the season and devote space in their garden to the violets. Seed collecting starts in June and continues through October. Violets are easy to grow with some gardening experience at your home in the driftless region (western Wisconsin or eastern Iowa/Minnesota). They also grow well in large pots/containers like those suitable for growing tomatoes.
The purpose of the seed is to establish violet plants in our plantings to expand host plant habitat for the Wisconsin endangered regal fritillary butterfly (violets in a grassland setting are the only plant larvae eat). Currently, the best populations of violets occur in remnant prairies at the Hogback. We are connecting these remnants by planting prairie in former agricultural fields that fragment the remnants. We want violets to be a part of these plantings so that the plantings can benefit reproduction and provide an adult food source. Since violet seeds are hard to collect from remnants and easier to collect from gardens, we encourage the public to help grow the plants and collect the seed.
Contact: If interested contact the DNR's State Natural Areas Volunteer Coordinator, Jared Urban at jared.urban@wisconsin.gov or 608-228-4349.
Find More Workdays
Help us care for State Natural Areas, some of Wisconsin's most pristine public lands. Encourage native plants and animals to thrive by cutting brush, controlling invasive species, collecting seeds, monitoring rare species and preparing fire breaks. Show up for a workday or become a steward responsible for all volunteer activities at a State Natural Area. Any level of participation is encouraged and no experience is necessary to start volunteering.
More information on meeting locations, how to RSVP, and contact info is available on the DNR website.
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