All hands on shovels to support pollinators Urban areas can support our bees, butterflies and other little creatures
The Pollinators Paradise Project is building an uninterrupted pollinator corridor of native plant species across the city of Hamilton and requires all hands on shovels.
Urban areas have the potential to support large numbers of pollinators such as bees, butterflies, moths, small birds and other helpful little critters because there is diversity of plants in gardens and less use of pesticides than in agricultural settings.
An initiative of the Hamilton Naturalists’ Club and Environment Hamilton, the goal of the Pollinators Paradise Project is for a native bee or butterfly to never exhaust itself on its search for food, shelter and nesting grounds to reproduce.
We have seen tremendous participation from people across the diverse sectors of the community, including residents, neighbourhood groups, schools, and faith-based groups.
Now we are thrilled to put two local corporate partners on the map: Terrapure Environmental and the Hamilton Port Authority have joined us in expanding the corridor and have planted habitat on their properties.
The Terrapure Pollinator Paradise is establishing the largest pollinator “patch” within the corridor by transforming over three acres of a closed landfill into a paradise at the Heritage Green Passive Park in Upper Stoney Creek.
Members of the local community and students from nearby Billy Green Elementary School have helped to create this habitat by planting native wildflowers that will benefit butterflies. Terrapure has provided the school with seeds of pollinator-friendly plants so that they can create their own pollinator habitat and help build the pollinator corridor in the area.
“We see this initiative as a wonderful opportunity to provide much-needed pollinator habitat and educate the public about the importance of pollinators to our ecosystem,” says Michael Jovanovic, VP of environmental affairs at Terrapure. “We hope our actions will encourage other businesses to consider starting their own pollinator paradise.” Many people are surprised to learn that three out of every four bites of food we eat depend on pollination.
While Terrapure invites the neighbourhood, the local school and the broader public to join in planting habitat and help with maintaining the site, the Hamilton Port Authority has been planting paradise within the seclusion of its gates.
“This is the first pollinator garden at the Port of Hamilton,” says Sharon Clark, manager of community relations. “We are now scoping out more spaces where the port lands can contribute to the pollinator corridor.”
Sharon describes the planting as serving as an educational opportunity for their staff, as well as “a demonstration site to encourage some of our tenant partners to come on board.”
As part of the movement to create habitat locally, we offer a certification program where people can register and be added to a map that lists patches across the city. As well, we are part of another initiative that furthers awareness and participation to improve biodiversity: the Hamilton Monarch Awards is an award for gardeners who plant for nature, now in its second year.
The interest from residents, schools, community groups and others is increasing; we are also seeing interest from city staff and councillors. Now we need more private-sector businesses to heed the call put out by Terrapure Environmental, the Hamilton Port Authority, and all of us at the Pollinators Paradise Project to get on board and join us in building the best ever, uninterrupted pollinator corridor across our city.
Jen Baker is project manager for Pollinator Paradise Project
We have seen tremendous participation from people across the diverse sectors of the community.