Scugog council sees an update report on the pollinator garden project

DAN CEARNS, The Standard

SCUGOG: The Township of Scugog is adding a new garden to the Port Perry landscape.

At a meeting on Monday, May 9th, Councillors saw an update report regarding the Township’s Pollinator and Butterfly Garden project.

“In the summer of 2021, Parks staff began preparing for site restoration work at the Rotary Environmental Park, located along the waterfront, north of the boat launch, for a new pollinator and butterfly garden,” the report, written by the Manager of Parks, Recreation and Culture Shawna Cornish, stated.

The report also explained why the Township has chosen to take on this project. “With the increased awareness of pollinator decline as climate change, pesticide abuse, and urban sprawl combine to limit pollinator habitat worldwide. Many suggest planting a pollinator garden can make a significant contribution to restoring habitat for bees and butterflies, who keep our food web intact. A pollinator garden was a recurring suggestion noted, as well, through the consultation process of the Waterfront Action Plan. We heard from youth participants suggesting pollinator gardens be considered in future projects.”

Members of the Scugog Environmental Advisory Committee, Scugog Accessibility Advisory Committee, Port Perry Rotary Club, and Mississaugas of Scugog Island First Nation were among those who provided their input to the project.

The report goes on to explain the Township then hired ‘Native Plants’ in Claremont, in the Fall of 2021, “to design and provide planting suggestions for the garden.” The garden will be shaped like a butterfly.

Work is expected to get underway in the coming months to prepare this new garden. This month, members of Township staff are expected to start “cutting in the pathway and the garden area,” and then planting is expected to start in June.

“Signs will be erected throughout the garden with the names of the plantings, [and] functions of a pollinator and butterfly garden in English and in Anishnaabemowin. In addition, the land acknowledgement plaque will be erected in the garden area, offering respect for the Indigenous people who have loved and nurtured the land for many generations,” the report added.

Ward 2 Councillor Janna Guido questioned how big the plants are going to be at their maturity.

“We have six varieties [which] are scheduled to be planted in there, and they all range between a height of 60 to 90 centimetres,” Ms. Cornish responded.

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