Meet Withbloom Pollinator Gardens
›› Myriam Parent
Have you ever looked closely at who pollinates your cucumbers and tomatoes in the summer? Who hangs around the fragrant lavender blooms by the Fernwood Community Centre? Beloved bees, yes, but what kind of bees?
A while back, in response to the initial pandemic lockdown, I started my first boulevard garden dedicated to pollinators. With the knowledge available to my common settler understanding of bees, I cast seeds from a «wild flower mix» and happily watch the garden attracts bees; mostly honey bees then, as I came to understand later.
As this gardening process took place, I was auspiciously pointed in the direction of a free course offered by Island Pollinator Initiative; with a curriculum developed by wild bee expert, biologist Dr. Lora Morandin, and supported by native plant expert, biologist Kristen Miskelly, Satinflower Nursery co-founder. This course, the Pollinator Steward Certification, changed everything.
Like waking up from a dream, I learned that honey bees, of Italian origin, are farmed animals who have very little to do with maintaining our ecosystems’ health, unlike wild bees. I also learned that wild or native bees, for the most part solitary (no hive, no honey, no colony), rely almost exclusively on the native plants they support in order to exist and live strong.
These illuminating findings radically altered the way I related to my first garden, and subsequently, to all natural spaces. The joy I found in supporting local pollinators eventually led me to start a small business dedicated to educate my peers about them, and create as many pollinator habitats as possible in urban settings.
With great reverence I now invite you to learn how in turns you can become a native pollinator supporter on Lekwungen Traditional Territory; a formidable adventure! Learn more at withbloom.ca and get in touch at info@withbloom.ca or 778-678-2736.
