Which month of the year is the greenest? May of course! Grasses are turning to a lush green colour, fresh bright green buds are swelling on tree branches, and wildflowers of all sorts are peeking their new green stems from the soil.
May is a month of green events, too! As the natural world renews and refreshes with new leaves and blooms, so do we, with new energy and vitality for a season of warmth, gardening, cycling, and outdoor fun.
GreenUP offers many resources, products, events, and workshops to support your month of green.
May is the perfect time to collect rain to use on your garden later, saving you money on your water utility bill, and conserving water at the same time. Pop into the GreenUP Store at 378 Aylmer Street North in downtown Peterborough to pick up a rain barrel.
Our rain barrels are sourced locally and are made from recycled olive barrels that have been retrofitted to collect and store rain water for personal use. For extra incentive to save water, Peterborough Utilities Group customers will receive an instant $25 rebate on their purchase of a rain barrel at the GreenUP Store.
Whether you already have a rain barrel, or you have just purchased your first, or are simply thinking about getting one, please join the GreenUP Water Department over your lunch hour on May 10th from 11:30-12:30 for a free Rain Barrel Installation Workshop. Participants can bring a bag lunch and learn tips and tricks for properly installing a rain barrel to optimize its use. This workshop is part of a new GreenUP Workshop Series focused on water called Connecting The Drops.
The Connecting The Drops series will also be present at the GreenUP Ecology Park Annual Plant Sale on May 21st offering the workshop “Rain Gardens 101”. This 20-minute workshop will be offered three times throughout the afternoon at 1 p.m., 2 p.m. and 3 p.m. and will cover the difference between rain gardens and water wise gardening, why it is beneficial to soak up rain, ways to prevent flooding, plants to consider adding to your rain garden, and more.
The GreenUP Ecology Park Annual Plant Sale runs from noon to 4 p.m. on Sunday, May 21st. This is our biggest sale of the year and, for many Peterborough residents, it is the official start of the gardening season.
The Ecology Park Garden Market officially opens that day, with quality veggies, seedlings, and a large variety of wildflowers, grasses, shrubs, and trees available. We specialize in varieties and species that thrive in our region of Ontario and that also provide important habitat for wildlife and pollinators.
Throughout the season, GreenUP Ecology Park features a host of display gardens and naturalized areas, a native plant nursery, children’s programs, garden market, skill-building workshops, and hands-on displays that all benefit from the funds raised at the Annual Plant Sale. GreenUP can then continue to offer the community everything we need to be good stewards of the land in our care.
If it is seeds you’re after for your garden, the GreenUP Store carries a variety of heritage, organic seeds that are non-GMO, non-treated, and sourced from local suppliers. Proceeds from the GreenUP Store also go back into GreenUP programs in the community.
May is also the month that many of us dig our umbrellas and our bicycles out of the shed and the basement.
During the month of May you can track your bike, transit, and walking trips with Community Shifting Gears. Come out of hibernation and leave the car behind as you travel to work, school, the store, an appointment, or elsewhere in healthy and sustainable ways — and win amazing prizes while you’re at it!
Register and get tracking now at peterboroughmoves.com. The first 500 participants to log 15 sustainable trips this May will win a prize.
If a bicycle is your favourite form of travel, GreenUP and B!ke, Peterborough’s Community Cycling Hub have teamed up to offer Bike Night every Thursday until October.
The first Bike Night in May is “Women’s Only ABCs of Bike Maintenance”, being held on Thursday, May 4th.
On Thursday, May 11th, join Bike Night with your whole family for “Ready to Ride for Families”. On Thursday, May 18th the focus will be ” How to Move Heavy Things by Bike” (like your kids!).
Finally, on Thursday, May 25th, Bike Night participants can join a Discovery Ride called “Peterborough by Bike” with City of Peterborough Transportation Demand Management Planner Susan Sauve, who can answer all your questions about how to use new bike lanes.
For a unique experience, join the Glow Ride on Friday, May 5th. Glow Rides are a fun and relaxed, medium-paced, seven to 10 kilometre community bike ride on some of our local trails and bikeways. Decorate your bike ahead of time with a variety of battery powered LED lights and glow sticks to make your ride glow in the dark.
For more details on the Glow Ride, or for Bike Night topics and registration, visit peterboroughmoves.com. For information about any events happening in May and beyond, check out the GreenUP website events calendar at www.greenup.on.ca/events.
