In Greendale, one group is turning a simple idea into something that brings neighbors together. Colored butterflies are popping up in windows across the community to spark conversations and connection.The Butterflies Create Comm unity Ties initiative is the first project by Millie Rising, a group founded late January or early February this year for millennial-aged women to connect with their communities. While the group has members across Wisconsin, the effort is taking flight in Greendale.Watch: How a new initiative in Greendale is using colored butterflies to create a greater sense of community among residents. Greendale neighbors share hope through colorful butterfly projectI spoke with the people behind the project, who told me it is not really about the butterflies themselves, but about the conversations, the connection and the sense of hope they create.Founder Caitlin Halpin said the project was inspired by something she saw in 2020 during the pandemic."Seeing all the hearts in the windows just made us smile," Halpin said."We would go on hunts to find the hearts on the windows. With butterflies I'm hoping we can do the same thing," Halpin said.Halpin hopes the butterflies will serve as a metaphor for the health of the community."Butterflies are a good indicator on how the ecosystem is doing. If we see a lot of butterflies popping up we might be in a good spot with each other. As a community, we have a lot more in common than what separates us. So when you see butterflies popping up in people's windows, I'm hoping that we feel a little more connected to our neighbors instead of the separation happening in our country right now," Halpin said.For Millie Rising member Nicole Del Carpio, the project is a way to connect with her community and her daughter, Mila."I'm really excited to be a part of something that is so unifying in our community. Weve done a lot of coloring, weve got three up right now but there might be more after today," Del Carpio said.Del Carpio is also a local business owner and plans to put some up at her own business. Other local businesses are already getting involved, including Anne Schimmel, owner of The Nest."Its interesting because as a small business owner people come in soliciting all types of things, but she came in and was talking about butterflies. The fact that she was using them to bring the community together I said I'm in, I'm all in," Schimmel said.Schimmel colored a butterfly and placed it in her storefront window, leaving the QR code visible so people can scan it to learn more about the project. She also made extra copies for customers."Multiple people Ive seen read it and scan the QR code," Schimmel said.Halpin said there are currently six butterflies up in Greendale village, and she is looking for more places to leave blank ones, like the local library, for people to grab and color.This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.Its about time to watch on your time. Stream local news and weather 24/7 by searching for TMJ4 on your device.Available for download on Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, and more.Report a typo or error // Submit a news tip ...read more read less