Milkweed plants are being offered to local residents for free to help restore the native plant species and feed the dwindling Monarch butterfly population.
"It's not a weed, it's a plant and if you're lucky you get caterpillars on there munching away on it," explained Deanna Armbruster from the Santa Monica Mountain Fund, who are giving away twenty-five thousand of the plants – and she says it’s making a difference.
"It's mind-blowing isn't it? We did it last year and we had so much success," said Armbruster.
"Data shows what was once a population in the millions has been reduced to thousands," she said.
"Our local giveaway events educate residents on how they can make a difference by just growing and tending to one plant," she said.
Santa Monica Mountains Fund employs local youth to facilitate the program, known as Monarcas.
"Our work is two-fold," said Armbruster. "We are profoundly concerned about the local Monarch population, and at the same time to help facilitate increasing the population we recruit young adults from underserved local communities to implement the program."
To learn more and register for free milkweed giveaways, visit: www.samofund.org/milkweed
