The 2017 Milkweed Seedball Initiative was our BIGGEST YET!
During the spring and summer of this year, we’ve partnered with some amazing organizations and conservation professionals around the state, who have held over 80 educational seedball-rolling events! Almost 3,500 Iowans have attended!
And, guess what…we’ve rolled over 60,000 seedballs!
With an average of 4 Asclepias Syriaca seeds per ball, that’s more than 250,000 seeds in the ground!
Seedball Rolling Events
Spring and Summer of 2017 have been absolutely FULL of seedballs! In fact, we’ve rolled OVER 60,000 seedballs! A HUGE THANK YOU to all of the organizations, companies, groups, and individuals who made this possible. You can find pictures and the full list below, although there are a few details still missing since numbers continue to come in.
A special shoutout to our Event Coordinators around the state:
- Todd Vonewhegen of Lime Creek Nature Center, Cerro Gordo County
- Alicia Mallarky of Driftless Area Wetland Centre
- Julie Fosado of Water’s Edge Nature Center, Kossuth County
- Nancy Crews, Mills County
- Max Lieberman, Iowa City
- Elizabeth Hill, Conard Environmental Research Area, Grinnell College
| Group | Number of Seedballs Rolled | Number of Attendees |
| Washington, Iowa Schools | 2000 | 60 |
| LeMars 4-H | 3585 | 37 |
| Grinnell College Reunion Fun Day | 803 | 7 |
| Drake Library, Grinnell | 200 | 20 |
| Latino Fest, Washington | 600 | 24 |
| West High School, Iowa City | 1535 | 260 |
| Hartman Reserve – Sustainability Workshop | 763 | 40 |
| NE Iowa Naturalists | 770 | 15 |
| Muscatine Pollinators | 600 | 16 |
| Scouts Camp, Johnson County | 3260 | 300 |
| Lake Iowa, Iowa County | 513 | 30 |
| Monarch Fest, Indian Creek Nature Center | 1030 | 100 |
| Student Environmental Committee, Grinnell College | 1684 | 24 |
| Unitarian Universalist of Iowa City | 315 | 10 |
| EcoFest, NewBo Market | 2000 | 100 |
| Indian Creek Nature Center | 200 | 10 |
| Science Day, Fairview Elementary, Grinnell | 1876 | 160 |
| Chest Royal Grange, Grinnell | 1414 | 26 |
| Marion Market | 1500 | 50 |
| Grinnell Middle School | 800 | 60 |
| Haley from West High, Iowa City | 300 | 10 |
| MFL MarMac Environmental Science 8th Grade Class | 518 | 20 |
| Turner Park Earth Day Event – McGregor, Iowa | 82 | 17 |
| Northeast Iowa Boyscout Camp | 768 | 20 |
| MFL MarMac Kindergarten Class (Field Trip to Wetlands Centre) | 315 | 74 |
| MFL MarMac7-8th Grade Class | 816 | 22 |
| Milkweed Seedballs & Monarch Program at Driftless Area Wetlands Centre | 878 | 20 |
| Music & Monarchs Festival – Clayton County Conservation & Awareness Network | 142 | 75 |
| MFL MarMac 6-8th Grade Field Trip – | 899 | 98 |
| Osborne Nature Center – 1st Grade Field Trip | 174 | 44 |
| Luther College Discovery Camp – Adventurers | 582 | 50 |
| Wetland Explorer Nature Tots Program | 121 | 4 |
| Luther College Discovery Camp – Pathfinders | 432 | 40 |
| Milkweed Seedballs, Monarchs & Prairie Wildflower Walk – Marquette Farmers Market Program | 764 | 11 |
| Elkader Library Program | 122 | 35 |
| Junior Naturalist 6th Grade Camp | 62 | 11 |
| Marquette Farmers Market- Last Seedball Hoorah | 1075 | 16 |
| Public program, Lime Creek Nature Center | 1650 | 115 |
| Cub Scouts Worth County | 774 | 20 |
| Boy Scouts, Cerro Gordo County | 377 | 20 |
| Trinity Lutheran | 390 | 25 |
| Noon Rotary | 1210 | 11 |
| 4-H – Bits & Spurs | 375 | 13 |
| Clear Creek 3rd Grade | 1550 | 110 |
| Hoover 2nd Grade | 448 | 75 |
| West Fork K-8 Grades | 2190 | 152 |
| Fertile Garden Club | 305 | 10 |
| Central Gardens | 178 | 100 |
| Central Gardens | 209 | 100 |
| Clear Lake Farmer’s Market | 168 | 35 |
| Girl Scouts/ISU Extension | 64 | 20 |
| Scouts | 0 | 2 |
| Boy Scouts | 0 | 12 |
| Henry Doorly Zoo Academy | 1180 | 30 |
| NE Elementary 2nd Grade | 800 | 80 |
| NE Elementary 2nd Grade | 1000 | 65 |
| 4H Hazel Dell Challengers | 745 | 25 |
| Bellevue East High School | 400 | 20 |
| East Mills 3rd Grade | 350 | 30 |
| Florence Community Garden, Omaha | 100 | 10 |
| Public Workshop | 350 | 8 |
| W. Pottawattamie Master Gardeners | 1300 | 20 |
| Johnson STEAM Academy (Cedar Rapids School District) | 48 | 13 |
| Johnson STEAM Academy (Cedar Rapids School District) | 544 | 87 |
| Kossuth County Conservation Board/Junior Conservation League/Smith Lake Enclosed Shelter (south) | 257 | 10 |
| Algona public Library/Summer Reading Program/Water’s Edge Nature Center | 222 | 27 |
| Kossuth County Conservation/Algona Manner Care Center/Algona Manner | 803 | 25 |
| Kossuth County Conservation/Bugs and Butterflies Camp/Water’s Edge Nature Center | 450 | 26 |
| Kossuth County Conservation/Public Program/Water’s Edge Nature Center | 956 | 23 |
| Kossuth County Conservation/Nature Tots/Water’s Edge Nature Center | 475 | 20 |
| Algona public library, sumer reading program, Algona library | 390 | 25 |
| Kossuth county conservation naturalists | 530 | 3 |
Seedball Distribution During RAGBRAI
During the last week of July, when thousands of riders peddled across the state, we EASILY distributed each and every one of these seedballs at our educational booths along the route. We gave each rider a handful of seedballs, along with instructions about where to toss them along the route.
Here were the locations for this year:
And, of course, documentation!
Milkweed Matters 