This is a multi-year initiative to plant milkweed and native wildflowers on roadsides throughout Western Monarch migratory habitat. Each fall, Alejandro Botijo and friends hop on their bicycles and follow the migration of the monarchs from the Pacific Northwest to the Central California coast. Along the way, they create monarch waystations by planting milkweed and wildflowers on roadsides and other underutilized land. This map documents the geolocations for the waystations to allow collaborators to visit the waystations in order to water the milkweed in the spring and even plant a few more seeds.
This project investigates ways of communicating to and listening with the waystation's fungi, plants, and insects through sound and music. Drawing from recent research in plant bioacoustics, MWS composers create music in the range of the resonant frequency of the milkweed in order to help give the plants a fighting chance on the roadsides. The music also functions as a jumping point for listening practices that invite participants and collaborators to attune to the relationality and sentience of socio-ecological systems found on the roadsides. The soundmap consists of geotagged field recordings and music that they have performed with the seedlings and plants.
Current collaborators: Alejandro Botijo // Comrade Caracol // Ursa La Verre // Stephie's Castle
If you have an interest in this project, please reach out! We are looking for cyclists, musicians, and environmental advocates who would like to collaborate with us!