Late July

Thousands of RAGBRAI riders are moving across Iowa all this week and the Milkweed Matters team have finished their second day.  We send our best wishes for a safe trip!  If you'd like to follow the team check out their facebook page.  We are pleased that MEI's idea to make 2,000 milkweed seedballs for RAGBRAI in 2015 has expanded so much this year (to 50,000+).  Hopefully we'll see the fruits of all of our labor next year!

In the meantime, Alason from Mount Vernon is one of our MEI members using containers New Pioneer Co-op donated to MEI for raising monarch butterflies. In the below photo you can see one chrysalis in each container.  It is neat how they are color-coordinated with the New Pi logo on each container!  Alason commented, "Not too much longer and Mt. Vernon will be getting even more beautiful!"  Another shout-out to New Pi, and thanks again!

Total Seedballs for RAGBRAI

From Milkweed Matters
     Our grand total: 50,816 milkweed seedballs for the roadsides of RAGBRAI!! Can you believe it?!? Thanks to all of the Monarchs in Eastern Iowa members who held events, volunteered their time, donated supplies, or supported financially! Check out all of the events and some fun photos! Now on to the RIDE!
https://milkweedmatters.org/ragbrai/2016-2/seedball-making-events/

To learn more about the RAGBRAI seedball initiative visit
https://milkweedmatters.org/ragbrai/2016-2/

From all the Monarch butterfly enthusiasts in MEI .....
THANK YOU KELLY GUILBEAU for leading this effort!

Volunteers needed

The RAGBRAI 2016 Milkweed Seed Ball Initiative needs your help!

The seedball booth in Mount Vernon, July 2015.

Last year, Monarchs in Eastern Iowa (MEI) made and distributed 2000 milkweed seed balls to give to riders who passed through MountVernon, to toss into ditches as they rode. Patty Ankrum recently checked the road south of Lisbon and found evidence that the seed ball project WORKED! New milkweed plants, isolated, with no patches of established milkweed nearby. One of our MEI members claims she's never seen milkweed on this road before this year.

During this year's RAGBRAI, MEI and Milkweed Matters will be handing out seedballs to riders to toss into ditches across the entire state, with Kelly Guilbeau of Milkweed Matters leading the team.

We have done AMAZING things! Our group has "manned" several educational booths, participated in tons of public outreach, and...oh yeah, did I mention making 35,000 seed balls!

HOWEVER...we need to finish this strong! We have 35,000 seed balls [as of June 21 Kelly reports there are over 40,000 seedballs!] and we are really in need of people to hand them out. There will be a booth every day in the second town on the RAGBRAI route. Due to unforeseen circumstances, we have a booth that does not have a leader...and almost all of the booths along the route need additional helpers.  We need volunteers in the below towns to help pass out balls to riders.

***Moravia...near Centerville (Thursday, July 28th)****
This town is majorly in need of a leader, or co-leaders and helpers.

Other towns that you could donate your time to include:
Monday, July 25th in Bethesda...near Corning
Tuesday, July 26th in Mount Ayr...near Creston
Wednesday, July 27th in Humeston...near Leon
Friday, July 29th in Hayesville...near Ottumwa OR
Saturday, July 30th in Columbus Junction...near Washington

Helpers do not need to be MEI members. They can be your friends or relatives that live in or near those towns that are willing to help out.

Another way you can help:
If anyone has housing connections around the overnight towns (Shenandoah, Creston, Leon, Centerville, Ottumwa,or Washington), for the leaders/volunteers/riding team to have a place to pitch tents and maybe even shower.

Kelly  Guilbeau talking about Monarchs to another RAGBRAI rider.

Please send an email to

 to let us know if you are able to help! We need to pull together one last time to make the RAGBRAI seed ball project a success!

PLEASE HELP!! THANK YOU!!!

Milkweed Matters
Milkweed Matters on Facebook