The City of Kawartha Lakes has recognized seven winners of the 2021 Bee Hero Garden Challenge on behalf of Bee City Canada.
Bee City Canada, a program of the charitable organization Pollinator Partnership Canada, encourages municipalities and their residents to support bees and other pollinators on both public and private land and to foster environmental awareness of the importance of pollinators.
In 2017, Bee City Canada designated Kawartha Lakes as a “Bee City” — the third in Ontario and the seventh in Canada at the time. The municipality launched the Bee Hero Garden Challenge in 2020 to encourage residents of Kawartha Lakes to help improve the habitat for native pollinators by planting a garden.
The 2021 challenge saw an variety of contestants show the progress of their gardens with before and after pictures, with the following participants selected as Bee Heroes:
Lindsay Community Gardens
Bonita O’Neill and Elizabeth Elliot took the lead at the pollinator garden at Lindsay Community Gardens, located at Fleming College’s Frost Campus, with the help of all the community gardeners. Many hours and attention were put towards planting in masses, without pesticides, for continuous bloom, larva, and water provisions. The garden features many herbs, including zinnias, parsley, and nasturtium.
Anne McMillan
Anne McMillan started her garden in the fall of 2020 with the sole purpose of attracting bees, butterflies, and birds. There are at least 10 varieties of perennials and they were all purchased from Anna’s Perennials near Bobcaygeon, where she was also given advice on what to plant.
Brynley and Bryce Ridgway
The Ridgways started their garden in the summer of 2020, planting yarrow, bee balm, blanket flower, and New England aster using a Canadian Wildlife Federation bee pollinator kit, along with some bright pink petunias. In 2021, they planted brynley and bryce, and their mother added delphiniums and shasta daisies, which are their birthday flowers.
Michelle MacDonald
After years of neglect, the MacDonald’s family garden was in need of some care and the family worked very hard to bring it back. They gave the front garden a huge overhaul, adding different plants to help spruce it up for more pollinators. MacDonald’s four-year-old daughter is always helping in the garden and loves watching the plants grow.
Mary Rose Clark
Mary Rose Clark’s garden started in the spring of 2021 with plants provided by a friend. It features only perennials and concentrates on colour, height, shape, and flowering season. There are two apple trees that cast a shade at different parts of the day and, in total, the garden has over 80 plants with 40 varieties.
Jane Stewart
Jane Stewart has six gardens with pollinator plants and bushes. A couple of years ago, she planted two types of wildflower seeds, one for butterflies and one for bees, following inspiration from the wildflower garden at her favourite golf course. Many of the plants are perennials and the others reseed themselves. The garden has a beautiful array of colours and shapes.
Thomas and Jackie Saunders
Low maintenance and large variety is Tom and Jackie Saunders’ goal. Their garden is for bees, birds, and butterflies and features flowering weeds for natural food, as well as bee balm, lavender, columbines, roses, holly hocks, lupines, stone crop, Russian sage, and summer and winter savory.
“Thank you for doing what you do for the environment,” said Deputy Mayor Tracy Richardson, who presented descriptions and photos of the winners’ garden at a committee of the whole meeting on Tuesday (February 8), with several of the winners attending virtually.
“It is so good to see the enthusiasm and the dedication to your gardens, and you are making a difference, so thank you very much,” she added.
In addition to receiving certificates on behalf of council and the municipality’s environmental advisory and pollinator action committees, each Bee Hero received gift cards from local native plant nurseries Grow Wild Native Plant Nursery and Green Side Up.
