Symposium

Milkweed

A huge thank you to all of our speakers, to those who joined us, and to everyone who contributed to the fundraising goal

SAMO Fund wants to give a special acknowledgment to the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) whose generous support over the last two years has enabled us to plant or give away 100,000 Milkweed plants, and bring this special symposium to you

Thanks to a generous, anonymous, donor, we have the opportunity of securing a matching donation of up to $5,000.


DONATE NOW AND
DOUBLE YOUR IMPACT!

Goal: $50,000

2024 Symposium

Watch the Symposium Replay here

Speaker Time stamps:

  • 00:00:00 Antonio Sanchez (Rancho Sierra Vista/Satwiwa Nursery Manager) - introduction and moderator

  • 00:13:00 Sara Cuadra-Vargas (Endangered Species Conservation Biologist and Monarch Overwintering Specialist from Xerces Society) - monarch overwintering, migration, population decline, population surveys

  • 00:44:12 Kayli O'Hara (Milkweed Technician) -  different milkweed species, native vs non-native

  • 01:03:23 Greta Varien (Chief Deputy Agricultural Commissioner of Ventura County) - banning tropical milkweed in Ventura, enforcement policies

  • 01:39:44 Antonio Sanchez - how to grow and care for native narrowleaf milkweed

  • 02:18:25 Julia Samaniego (Wallis Annenberg Wildlife Crossing Nursery) - cultural importance and ethnobotanical uses of milkweed

  • 02:45:36 Aurora Anaya (Pollinator Garden enthusiast) - native plant-oriented yards for monarchs

  • 03:12:30 Jimena Jaramillo (Milkweed Technician) - the Milkweed Project over the past 2 years and general SAMO Fund promo for volunteer events and free native plants

If you are able to, please consider a donation to help keep this wonderful program going

Thanks to the support of NFWF and the generous donations of Monarch fans like you, SAMO Fund has been able to accomplish great things over the last 2 years

So far, SAMO Fund has

  • Grown 100,000 native milkweed plants

  • Engaged 18 diverse youth as employees and student interns to support project components (seed gathering, plant production, habitat enhancement, outreach, and distribution components)

  • Grown 3 different kinds of milkweed

  • Provided 5 native plant workshops

  • Provided 5 outreach events to educate the public on native milkweed and monarch butterflies

  • Planted 25,000 milkweed plants across 150-acre area at the nursery at Rancho Sierra Vista (RSV)

  • Donated 30,000 milkweed plants

With your support, we can continue to

  • Plant 25,000 milkweed plants across 150-acre area at RSV by end of April 2025

  • Draw up maps of planting sites at RSV

  • Donate 20,000 plants to communities, schools, and senior gardens

  • Reach out and develop an understanding of the community’s needs

  • Clean 10 pounds of harvested native milkweed seed

  • Provide this native milkweed and monarch symposium again next year