Reimagining Beddington’s open spaces: parks, playgrounds, pathways & fields
In 2020, we proudly became Alberta’s first Butterflyway by identifying a “pathway” of yards throughout Beddington that help pollinators thrive. To learn how to attract more pollinators to your yard or balcony – or to add your pollinator-friendly space on our Butterflyway map – please email [email protected].
Below is a short sample of resident Butterfly Ranger David Mulder’s March newsletter.
“First spring? False spring? March madness? Call it what you will, this has been an amazing month for weather in Calgary, I hope everyone has been out poking around to see what is coming up and observing all of the activity among last year’s debris…
Although the weather may bring buckets of motivation and desire to clean out those flower beds, this is a friendly reminder to try to wait as long as possible! Dead leaves, winter die off, the hollow stalks of plants and general garden debris are where butterflies, some solitary bees and many other overwintering insects are hiding from the cold. If they are disturbed too early or thrown in the compost this can have wide effects on the ecology of your garden!
For the Butterflyway Project as a whole, we are continuing the program into 2021. I am very happy to see a big increase in the number of Rangers signed up this spring from Calgary, and I like to hope that some of them were in our area, or at least influenced by the work we did as a community last year! Education and awareness are two of our most important tools when it comes to changing the way we view our own backyards…
What’s next for Beddington? The boulevard planters will be returning this year as part of the Reimagine Beddington Committee’s efforts, as well as pushing forward with the community garden project; we have received tentative approval for a site for the garden at the pleasure rink to the East of the StoryBook Theatre! If you are interested in this project, please reach out to Mavis at [email protected] to volunteer, we should be building things and moving dirt this summer!”
Reimagine Beddington Committee
