Supporting Pollinators, All Year Round - NeighbourWoods North
Native plants play a key role in sustaining life through winter. A local gardener shares how pollinator gardens quietly support biodiversity year-round.
COMMUNITY CONTRIBUTION
Submitted by Vicky Thompson, a volunteer with NeighbourWoods North, Pollinate Owen Sound and Grey County Master Gardeners.
As I write this, I am sitting and looking out our back windows, over our garden and yard. There is fresh snow falling on the now well-established piles — what a winter! There are birds at the feeders, along with the ubiquitous squirrels.
Despite the winter beauty, I feel a touch of longing for my summer view of the pollinator garden that is just there, outside.
Its colourful array of native plants is a home and food source for countless insects in the warmer months. It is alive with activity. I take great satisfaction in knowing it is helping our declining insect populations and contributing to the richness and abundance of life.
Suddenly, it occurs to me that my native plant garden is still on the job. Birds are still getting seed from the stalks of asters and evening primrose that we left standing, now protruding through the snowbanks.
With a little imagination, I can see the insects that are pupating under the dead leaves I left on the ground in the fall. There are cavity-nesting bee larvae resting in the stalks of the plants left standing, ready to pupate and emerge in the spring.
It is also comforting to know that a short walk around town will take me past a number of pollinator gardens where similar activity is going on, out of sight. Spring will bring opportunities to visit a number of pollinator gardens in the city.
NeighbourWoods North has established four large Meadow Gardens along the pathway at the hospital — all native plants. Ground-nesting birds make use of this garden in the spring.
Pollinate Owen Sound, working with the Open Team, has established Pollinator gardens at the Billy Bishop Museum and plantings at the Library and Tom Thomson Art Gallery.
Next year will bring new pollinator habitat to the library grounds and a large pollinator garden at the Marine and Rail Museum. A native plant garden is in progress just behind the market, and next year will see a trial pollinator garden in one of the raised beds along 2nd Avenue East.
Others are taking up the task. Grey County has established three areas of native plantings on their main property — they are taking back the lawn. The Township of Georgian Bluffs has planted native trees at the township office.
The Sustainablity Network has, among other projects, established a Tiny Forest on the grounds of Peninsula Shores Secondary School in Wiarton. This is an intensely planted area that supports biodiversity and educates students.
The Ed Taylor Community Garden established a pollinator garden in its first season.
The Georgian Bay Garden Club is planning a pollinator garden to pair with its lovely plantings at the Bayshore.
Last year, my neighbour planted native species in her garden. She just added four native plants to her established traditional flower bed. It looks — and sounds — beautiful.
That’s all it takes. If we all add some native plants to our yards, and our public institutions demonstrate the importance and the beauty of native plant habitat in our public spaces, we can make a difference.
This is the fourth of a series of monthly columns on a range of local environmental topics written for The Owen Sound Current by volunteers with NeighbourWoods North and other local climate action groups.
Thank you to sponsors of The Owen Sound Current Writers’ Fund, who make these community contributions possible. Contributions from the community do not necessarily reflect the opinions or beliefs of The Owen Sound Current and its editor or publisher.
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