Promoting Native Plants and Wildflowers
We promote native plants in urban settings as a way to engage urbanites in the broader ecosystem that is native to the ecosystem. Nature is not “out there” but is also within the city. Planting native plants in your garden is important for local biodiversity. These plants are important food sources for pollinators, butterflies, and other insects. In fact, native plants are particularly important because they have evolved to be in sync with pollinators and insects to bloom at specific times. Native plants also present multiple co-benefits for the soil by storing carbon, they are well adapted to local condisitons therefore they do not require chemical fertilizers and much watering.
We are partnering with the Winnipeg Wildflower Project to build a wildflower bed in Winnipeg. We are actively looking for volunteers to help with this project (building the site, watering, seed collection in the fall, weeding). Let us know if you would like to get involved.
Nature-Based Arts Engagement
The past two years have been hard. We have seen how the outdoors has been a lifeline for many. Nature has been a source of resilience and inspiration.
“Climb the mountains and get their good tidings. Nature’s peace will flow into you as sunshine flows into trees. The winds will blow their own freshness into you, and the storms their energy, while cares will drop like autumn leaves.” - John Muir
Nature As Muse is a unique initiative blending visual arts and poetry as a means to meaningfully connect with nature. In March 2021, new and seasoned poets came together to create poetry inspired by weekly nature walks in the participants’ vicinity. These weekly online gatherings have proven to be a source of connection with one another and with nature.
Thank you to our wonderful artists-in-residence Renée Michaud and Laura Barron for leading the project. Thanks to the International Centre of Arts for Social Change, Judith Marcus Project.
The Prairie Living Room was a creative nature-scape installation built as a tribute to the hard choice Winnipeggers made to stay in their living rooms during the first wave of Covid-19. Built as an outdoor living room, the installation featured 40 native plant species including wildflowers and grasses.
The Prairie Living Room also served as a hub for local speakers to share their wisdom and for seed collection. Plants from the installation have been redistributed all over the city.
