The Butterflyway Project

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

The Butterflyway Project, and it’s sister L’effet Papillon campaign in Quebec, began in five Canadian cities in 2017. We recruited a team of volunteer Butterflyway Rangers in each community. Their mission was to plant native wildflowers in yards, schoolyards, streets and parks to support bees and butterflies. The goal was to establish local “Butterflyways” by planting at least a dozen pollinator patches in each neighbourhood or community.

Over the past five years, we’ve recruited and trained more than a thousand Butterflyway Rangers from hundreds of communities. They’ve connected with neighbours, schools, city agencies, businesses and community groups. To date, they’ve helped:

• Get 85,000+ butterfly-friendly wildflowers into the ground.
• Create 6,000+ pollinator patches for wild bees and butterflies.
• Establish official Butterflyways in 75 communities and neighbourhoods.

The Butterflyway Project shows that a small group of residents can make a big difference. Rangers make their communities greener and healthier. They create opportunities, connect people and champion fun ideas. Check out some of their stories below to get inspired!

The Butterflyway Project is based on our Homegrown National Park Project, an award-winning initiative project that created butterfly-friendly corridors in three Toronto neighbourhoods. In 2020, the Butterflyway Project received the Canadian Museum of Nature’s Nature Inspiration Award!