Spreading love, sharing seeds

Liam the Lepidopterist believes every day is Earth Day and holds this annual Amigos for Monarchs milkweed and assorted flower seed-sharing project each spring and early summer.

This all began in California in 2019, as Liam looked to help the western monarch which has seen sharp declines in population numbers in recent years. In the project’s first two years, Liam (with the help of his family), shared more than 200 milkweed seed kits with friends, family and perfect strangers to help start monarch-friendly gardens.

In 2021, the project’s third year, over 800 milkweed seed kits were distributed. Liam reached his 2021 goal of sharing 500 seeds in June and a tremendous growth in interest came thanks to the reporting of Justin Bachman of 13 On Your Side. Justin, a multimedia journalist who took an exceptional amount of time and care in interviewing Liam, created a broadcast news story which went viral — with some stations calling Liam "the butterfly boy" and "west Michigan's youngest conservationist." Our family heard from people across the states who learned about Amigos for Monarchs from radio to TV stories. As a result of the coverage, between June and November, we sent over 300 more seed kits out and Liam hand decorated as many of the envelopes as he could along the way, coloring monarchs and landmarks from the places where they were going.

Now, in the project's 4th year, Liam has a goal of sharing 1,000 milkweed seed kits to help the monarchs.