The Butterflyway Project

The Butterflyway Project is a citizen-led movement that’s bringing nature home to neighbourhoods throughout Canada, one butterfly-friendly planting at a time.

The Butterflyway Project began in 2017 in Markham, Montreal, Richmond, Toronto and Victoria. We recruited a team of volunteer Butterflyway Rangers in each community. Their mission: to plant networks of native wildflowers in yards, schoolyards, streets and parks.

To establish a Butterflyway, Rangers must plant at least a dozen pollinator patches in their neighbourhood. Each Butterflyway gets an official sign and recognition on our website and maps.

In the past two years, Butterflyway Rangers connected with local schools, city agencies and homeowners. They planted thousands of wildflowers in hundreds of pollinator patches, establishing Butterflyways in nine neighbourhoods and cities!

In 2018, we brought Butterflyway joy to new neighbourhoods. We recruited Rangers in five cities in B.C. and Ontario and more than 80 Papillon Patrouille in Quebec.

This summer, Rangers created wildflower-filled Butterflyways in Scarborough, Markham, Toronto, the District of North Vancouver and Richmond. Two dozen cities pledged to become monarch-friendly. Citizens created two Butterflyway Lanes. More than 40 schools planted butterfly gardens. Thousands of people planted wildflowers and learned about the benefits of adding native plants to their gardens, balconies, schoolyards, streets and parks.

The Butterflyway Project shows that a small group of residents can make a big difference for bees and butterflies. Check out the stories below to get inspired!

If you don’t live in a current Butterflyway community, the resource list below will help you find out how you can bring butterflies home to your neighbourhood, one fun planting at a time.

The Butterflyway Project is based on our Homegrown National Park Project, which began in 2013. That award-winning, citizen-led project created butterfly-friendly corridors in three Toronto neighbourhoods. It established dozens of pollinator patches in parks, front yard rain gardens and schoolyard canoe planters.