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Pollinator Grant Report, November 10 2024
(a) Group name and project name: Dufferin Grove Park Garden Co-op / Pollinator Gardens
(b) Group lead informationSkylar Hill-Jackson, Volunteer Coordinator, Dufferin Grove Park Garden Co-op Volunteers
City neighborhood in which the project is located: Bloorcourt, Dufferin & Bloor
Number of pollinator gardens: four
Pollinator Habitat Creation
We removed invasive species, e.g. Norway maples, garlic mustard, With our Pollinator TO grant funds we purchased sun and shade pollinator plants, and took full advantage of the free pollinator plant and shrub giveaways. Many plants were in the ground by fall 2023. In spring 2024, after removing invasive plant species, we added more native plants to the other 3 small garden patches. In addition, we transplanted other native plants (bee balm, milkweed, rudbeckia) already established (on their own) from different areas of the park; and also, transplanted plant donations (milkweed babies) from neighbors. It is amazing how goldenrod and purple asters show up on their own, together, in unkept areas of the park.
Number of herbaceous plants, milkweed plants, shrubs, small trees and large trees:
We used only native plants: about 30 different native plant species, 3 varieties of goldenrod, 10 milkweed plants, 1 black cherry tree, 1 witch hazel shrub, 1 purple flowering raspberry
Pollinator habitat features incorporated into the gardens:
Plant identifying labels, bee/butterfly water/stone fountain dishes, PollinateTO signage, and we created pollinator habitats of wood stumps, twigs & brush, and cut native plants down leaving 8-12” of stalk for native overwintering pollinators.
Community Engagement and Education:
Several educational workshops for school age children and community
- Clement Kent, Project Swallowtail, Bee Workshop (June 21/2023)
- Carol Pasternak, The Monarch Crusader Butterfly Workshop (July 12/2023)
- Sherry Candel, Bee City Canada (Sept. 20/2023)
- Crystal Melin, Indigenous Plant/Pollinator Ways (Sept. 26/2024)
Pollinator Information Table and Pollinator Garden Tour at the Dufferin Grove Park Community Open House (April 6, 2024)
Pollinator Week Pollinator Information Table at Farmers' Market (June 20/2024)
Engaging with neighborhood and community during 3xweek park garden sessions March to November 2023 and 2024.
Number of people directly involved in delivering the project: Two, plus several DGP garden volunteers
Community Partners: - CELOS (Centre For Local Research into Public Space), a very small, non-profit organization with charitable status (as of 2009) which, since 2000, has been documenting work in the area of public urban space, mainly (but not only) parks.
- Project Swallowtail, a collaborative effort to connect communities street by street and empower residents to restore nature, working together to increase pollinator awareness and habitat in west Toronto.
- Also working with University of Toronto and York University students regarding their pollinator projects.
Reflections and Learnings (Description of most rewarding and challenging parts of the project?)
Rewarding: our growing knowledge and importance of Ontario native plants, native bees, butterflies, moths, pollinating flies, and sharing all this new information with park users, especially children, family and friends. Our experience with the PollinatorTO grant was enlightening and motivating. We learned so much. All the guest speakers were incredibly knowledgeable and the sharing of their experiences was amazing and inspiring. PollinateTO has deepened our connection to plants and pollinators. We genuinely appreciate this very rewarding and educational experience. Along with the pollinator work we are doing in our local park and sharing pollinator information with park users, Skylar is also sharing her new knowledge with her own family and her 8 grandchildren. We are expanding our pollinator habitats throughout the Dufferin Grove Park.
Challenging issues: bad behaviour from park users, the taking of PollinateTO signs, the lack of respect of the pollinator gardens, garbage thrown in the pollinator gardens…
Jan.7, 2025, from PollinateTO staff Daisy Goulart
Subject: Impact report: Dufferin Grove Park Garden Co-op
Thank you for submitting the impact report for your Pollinator Gardens project. I was very impressed with your beautiful pollinator garden, but even more impressed with the educational workshops and events you ran. It looks like it was a very successful project that engaged and educated many people in the community. I also loved the pollinator colouring sheets! What a great idea.
I see from your budget that the group members received an honorarium totaling $300, but that was not an approved expense unfortunately. For this reason, we will not be dispensing the final 10% payment of $289.60. I also just wanted to confirm how many gardens you were able to create and their sizes. Your application indicated one garden, but the impact report has 4 gardens listed that are 10 X 8 (feet?).
Jan.7, 2025, from Skylar Hi Daisy: Sorry about that. I guess Amy and I misunderstood about the honorarium to the grant facilitators.
To answer your question about the garden sizes: There are four gardens next to each other at the north/west end of Dufferin Grove Park. A big pollinator garden (not sure of the exact size) and three smaller gardens 8x10 feet each.