The Middlesex Centre Pollinator Team and Ethan's Garden present:

Celebrate Nature with us on Saturday, June 17, 2023

Free event from 10:00am to 4:00pm!
​
  • Learn about pollinators and biodiversity from expert speakers
  • Join the activity stations and games for some hands-on fun
  • Watch some demos and workshops
  • Visit the exhibitors to learn about different ways to reconnect with nature
  • Take a tour of of Ethan's Garden, a memorial garden with a thriving native plant habitat
  • Bring home some native plants and seeds and other goodies

This will be a fun day to gather with friends, family and community to celebrate and reconnect with nature!
Location:

Komoka Community Centre
133 Queen Street
Komoka, Ontario
N0L 1R0
Canada

Meet The Speakers

Learn all about what you can do in your own home and community to support a healthier ecosystem!

The Impact of Non-Native Species and the Nature Conservancy's Work

with

Nicholas Armstrong

Growing up on a farm outside of London, Ontario, and spending much of his time outdoors, Nicholas gained a deep appreciation for the land and its resources. He completed the Fish & Wildlife Conservation Technician program at Sault College and the honour’s Bachelor of Environmental Management Program at Lakehead University. He has worked with Nature Conservancy Canada since 2019, and is currently an Assistant Conservation Biologist in Norfolk County.

​The Importance of Native Trees, Forests and Nature

with

Larry Cornelis

Larry is a retired conservationist, horticulturist and a naturalist. He is passionate about all things nature. He has received many awards from naturalist and conservation groups including local clubs, Ontario Nature, Carolinian Canada, and the Ministry of Natural Resources. Larry has recently moved to the family farm (Honeylocust Homestead) near Wallaceburg, Ontario on the Sydenham River with his family, where they are engaging in regenerative agriculture.

Creating Native Plant Pollinator Habitats in Your Yard

with

Rick Gray

Rick has been gardening with native plants for over 15 years and has over 300 species in his backyard in southwestern Ontario. His garden has been part of several organized garden tours in recent years. Rick is very active on a number of native plant gardening Facebook groups and regularly posts articles about native plants on his website nativeplantgardener.ca.

Activities

A Nature Quest, tour of Ethan's Garden, activity stations with garden rock painting, seed planting, native plant colouring sheets, gardening demos, gardening tools swap table, native plant seed giveaways, native plant sales, and more!

“Knowing that you love the earth changes you, activates you to defend and protect and celebrate. But when you feel that the earth loves you in return, that feeling transforms the relationship from a one-way street into a sacred bond.”

- Robin Wall Kimmerer, Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants

Meet The Exhibitors!

If you are interested in becoming an Exhibitor, please click here to fill out the application form.
Bee Sweet Logo with a solid green leaf and a leaf filled with hexagons resembling a beehive
Bee Sweet Nature Company
Photo of wood board canvases and paintbrushes and a small wood sign that says Butterfly Cafe with a Monarch butterfly. Text reads: Inspire Flora Art
Inspire Flora Art
Green logo with a maple leaf and text that reads: Nature Conservancy Canada
Nature Conservancy Canada
Logo with large C. Inside are 3 green trees and 3 blue waves. Green text reads: St. Clair. Below that is blue text that reads: onservation.
St. Clair Region Conservation Authority
Ethan's Garden Logo with a butterfly over a 3-leaf seedling
Ethan's Garden
Little Otter Tree Farm Logo with a green drawing of a coniferous tree-lined river or road, 2-story cabin and sky.
Little Otter Tree Farm
An illustration of a Northern Red Cardinal head and part of wing. Black text reads: Nature London
Nature London
Background photo of a Monarch caterpillar on a milkweed plant. Text reads: Sweetwater Native Plants
Sweetwater Native Plants
Background photo of pink cotton candy-like Prairie Smoke flowers in bloom. Text reads: Golden Alexanders Native Plant Nursery.
Golden Alexanders Native Plant Nursery
London Environmental Network Logo with green mandala above black text.
London Environmental Network
Logo with large green letters: ONP. The O has an inverted seedling. Below is small text that reads: ONPLANTS.CA
Ontario Native Plants
Thames Talbot Land Trust Logo with large black text, a small green Oak leaf and text underlined with a blue swirl resembling a winding river
Thames Talbot Land Trust
Photo of an open palm with an upright seedling. Text reads: Heavenly Earth Native / Carolinian Tree and Shrub Nursery
Heavenly Earth Native / Carolinian Tree and Shrub Nursery
Logo: black text reads Middlesex Centre Pollinator Team. There is a large Monarch Butterfly
Middlesex Centre Pollinator Team
Black text reads: Prairie Song Nursery and Restoration. Above is a digital graphic of a blue lupine flower with signature star-like green leaves. Perched on it is a small bird with beak open.
Prairie Song Nursery and Restoration
Photo overlooking a river with shrubs in the foreground and on the horizon. Clouds and the blue sky reflect in the water. White text reads: Thedford Native Plants
Thedford Native Plants
If you are interested in becoming an Exhibitor, please fill out the application form by clicking the button below:

Meet Your Hosts

The Middlesex Pollinator Team

Website ~  Facebook ~ Instagram

Ethan's Garden

Facebook 

Things to Note

Covid Protocols
The speakers, workshops and exhibitors will be indoors in the Community Centre. We will have outdoor activities as well. Masking will be at personal discretion. If you are not feeling well, please stay home and we hope you'll feel better soon. Thank you for your cooperation.


Parking
There is free parking available in the community centre parking lot.


Places to Stay Nearby
  • (coming soon)​
(We have no affiliation with any of the above. We receive no compensation from any of the above or their representatives or affiliates for listing them or for any income they may receive. We assume no liability for any business you choose to do with them.)
We are settlers on the traditional lands of the Anishinaabek, Haudenosaunee, Lūnaapéewak  and Attawandaron Peoples, Treaty 21 territory, currently known as Middlesex Centre, Ontario, Canada. The First Nations people, Innuit and Métis have stewarded these lands and waters since time immemorial. They continue to do so today, facing generations of violent assimilation and erasure. To reconcile our relationship and restore harmony, we acknowledge the harms caused by colonialism and commit to listen to, honour, and integrate Indigenous wisdom, history and values into our pollinator habitat work.

The ​Middlesex Centre Pollinator Team 
pollinatorteam@mail.com