Monarch butterflies cannot survive without milkweed; their caterpillars only eat milkweed plants (Asclepias spp.), and monarch butterflies need milkweed to lay their eggs.
Help save the monarch butterfly and improve the park’s pollinator habitat by collecting and donating milkweed and wildflower seeds to the “Roberts Field Seed Drive” this fall. The Seed Drive benefits Roberts Field in Chelmsford, MA, and is being organized by the volunteer organization Friends of Roberts Field.
Improving the diversity of flowering plants is a habitat goal for Roberts Field. Milkweed is essential to the survival of monarch butterflies (the only plant they eat), and wildflowers such as Black-Eyed Susans, Asters, Turtlehead and Coneflower provide food and habitat to pollinators like bees, moths and butterflies. All of these native flowering plants (and more) produce seeds that can be collected locally or purchased, donated and then planted by volunteers at Roberts Field this fall.
Now through October 16 please drop your seeds at the Roberts Field box behind the Fire Station on Old Westford Road
Now through October 16, 2016, please drop your labeled and bagged milkweed or wildflower seeds in the seed collection box at the Roberts Field Trail Head Map Kiosk (behind the Old Westford Road Fire Station). Please mark your collection bag with your name, the date, plant name, and the location of the collection. The seeds will be planted in the flowering meadow at Pollinator Park and near the pond shore at Roberts Field. A list of suggested wildflower seeds to collect and donate can be found here. Any questions about the Seed Drive and planting can be directed to Bill Askenburg at (978) 455-1405.
Purchasing and Donating Seeds
Seeds will be planted along the pond shore and in the flowering meadow in Pollinator Park.
Regionally appropriate milkweed and wildflower seeds are also available commercially, and can be purchased online and donated to the Seed Drive. The Vermont Wildflower Farm offers a variety of New England grown milkweed seeds and a Save the Monarch Butterfly Combo seed mix that fit Roberts Field’s growing conditions and habitat goals. Purchased seeds can be dropped at the Roberts Field collection box, or shipped to Friends of Roberts Field to the attention of Bill Askenburg, 185 Westford Street, Chelmsford, MA 01824.
Collecting Milkweed Seeds
Seeds can be found in the “wild” on private lands, public right of ways and roadsides – but always remember safety first! Always ask permission and explain politely what you are doing and why. Positively identify the plant before collecting the pods. Milkweed seeds look alike in most species and are very difficult to identify by the seed alone.
Please collect only regional seedpods, leaving some pods to insure the plants continue to propagate and thrive in the found area. A good rule of thumb is to take 1/3 and leave 2/3. To collect the seedpods from a milkweed plant it is best to pick them when the seed inside is brown. Do not collect pods when seeds are white or cream colored. If the center seam of the pods pop with gentle pressure, they can be picked.
It is best to collect pods in paper bags, avoiding using plastic bags because they attract moisture and foster mold. Store seeds in a cool, dry area until they can be dropped off at the Roberts Field collection box.
Collecting Other Wildflower Seeds
If collecting and donating wildflowers (see list) outside of your garden, please ask permission and take no more than 1/3 of the available seed. Please strip the seed from the flower head and store the loose seed in paper bag. Please put each type of plant seed in its own unique, labeled bag.
Helping To Plant The Seeds
If you would like to help us plant the collected seeds this fall, please contact Bill Askenburg at (978) 455-1405.
The Friends of Roberts Field is a non-profit volunteer group founded in 2013 to encourage greater appreciation and public use of the Chelmsford, Massachusetts park located at 260 Old Westford Road. The volunteer organization is comprised of neighbors and residents committed to enhancing and protecting Roberts Field Park for the enjoyment of everyone, and with the cooperation of the Town of Chelmsford and Conservation Commission, recently enacted a Habitat and Trail Plan to preserve, protect and improve the natural areas of the neighborhood park.