The old Cedar Rapids landfill known as 'mount trashmore' is in the middle of a major renovation. Friday crews took another step to bring back more wildlife as well.

The Solid Waste Agency has been trying to figure out what to do with the site on A Avenue Southwest for more than a decade. Construction started to turn it into a recreational site in the spring in hopes of bringing in more people.

By planting 19 acres of milkweed, volunteers with the Master Naturalists and employees at the Solid Waste Agency are hoping it will create a habitat for Monarchs.

The Center For Biological Diversity says a 2016 monarch count found over the past 22 years, the butterflies declined by 68 percent.

"This is 50 years of garbage that was produced by Cedar Rapids and Linn County residents and we're trying to transform that into really something that people can use as a community asset," Solid Waste Agency communication director Joe Horaney said.

"Anyplace where we can create a mix of different flowers and milkweed so that both the caterpillars and the adults have food to eat, we beter their chances of survival," volunteer with the Master Naturalists Justin Voss said.

Crews were also busy hammering away at the new scenic overlook that will look like this in the fall.

"This really plays into the overall transformation that we're trying to do here with Mount Trashmore we're trying to turn this into a recreation destination," Horaney said.

From the top you can see the whole city.

"Mount Trashmore is quickly becoming more of a park-like setting. It's already a great habitat for birds and hopefully soon it will be an even better habitat for birds and insects," Voss said.

The funding for the monarch project came from a grant from a group called Monarch Watch in Kansas City.