Education in our community about native plants, species and how to nurture a healthy environment is vital to nature, our community, and our youth. ​

You know how much children love to learn about the cycle of the Monarch Butterfly! And our community is blessed to have many teachers further showing our youth this cycle of life. 

Our organization is considering educational opportunities that encourage community members of all ages to plant native pollinator plants and take other actions toward building a sustainable ecological system for the benefit of all.

If you are interested in helping, please reach out to us via our Contact Page!

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Garden Sign

Having a garden sign in your pollinator garden lets passersby know that your garden was created with intention.

A sign creates awareness and invites conversations about the importance of supporting pollinators and wildlife in our local ecosystem.

Our team has created a Pollinator Garden sign for these reasons.

If you live in Middlesex Centre, Ontario, you can order one from us by clicking here.

Educational Links

Guides, Databases & Directories

• A Cultivated Art - Plant Library - Ontario native plant species; also see video and blog sections for tips
• In Our Nature - by Shaun Booth - Guide to plants for specific conditions; native plant profiles
• Invasive Insects in Canadian Forests - Toolkit for forest managers and landowners 
• IPCA* Knowledge Basket - Digital platform with Indigenous stories, videos, songs, government reports and policies, articles and artwork. *IPCA = Indigenous Protected and Conserved Areas​
• Oldham's List of the Vascular Plants of Ontario's Carolinian Zone 
• Ontario Insects - Online Field Guide
• Ontario Invasive Plant Council - Guide
• Ontario Treaties & Reserves - Map and information about the treaties that cover where we garden, live, go to school or work
• Ontario Trees and Shrubs - Online Field Guide
• Ontario Wildflowers - Online Field Guide
• Southern Ontario Grow Me Instead - Guide
• VasCan - Vascular Plants of Canada Directory
• Winter Sowers Facebook Group - Seed germination through winter sowing - instructions, tips, photos

London-Middlesex Community Projects & Resources

• Ethan's Garden - A native species community memorial garden in Komoka, Ontario
• London-Middlesex Master Gardeners - Garden tips, advice, events, courses

• London Environmental Network - Environmental programs and climate action opportunities for residents
• Lower Thames Valley Conservation Authority - Overseeing watersheds of all streams draining into the Thames River from Delaware to Lake St. Clair in Southwestern Ontario. "Pollinator Habitats & Facts" here
• Middlesex Centre Pollinator Team - Native plant propagation and sales, seed share, education and community planting projects
• Thames Talbot Land Trust - Protection, conservation and preservation of nature within Elgin, Middlesex, Oxford and Perth Counties
• Upper Thames River Conservation Authority - Watershed-based management of renewable resources. "How to Attract Native Insect Pollinators to your Garden" here
• Westminster Ponds Environmental Education Centre - Space for environmental organizations and education

Resources

• Alderville Black Oak Savanna - Black oak savanna and wild rice recovery & restoration, education, native & medicinal plant nursery in Alderville First Nation
  Blooming Boulevards - Suburban boulevard pollinator garden advice and plants in Mississauga, Ontario
• Carolinian Canada Coalition - Cross-sector ecosystem platform for Ontario's Carolinian Zone
• Conservation Through Reconciliation Partnership - Indigenous-led network for conservation strategy
• Creator's Garden and Market - Joseph Pitawanakwat - Indigenous plant medicines with integrated Anishinaabe-Western knowledge
• David Suzuki Foundation - Climate research, education, policy and action​
• Ecojustice - Environmental Law organization in Canada
• Great Lakes Guardians Council - Ontario government forum for First Nations and Metis communities focussing on Great Lakes issues
• Great Lakes Indian Fish & Wildlife Commission - Tribal Climate Adaptation Menu document (and website)
• Indigenous Climate Action - Indigenous-led solutions development to the climate crisis and achieving climate justice
• Indigenous Protected and Conserved Areas (IPCAs) - Explainer video
• Kenhteke Seed Sanctuary and Learning Centre - Youth and community education in the art of seed saving 
• Native Land Map - A crowd-sourced map database of territories, languages and treaties
• Nature Conservancy Canada - Conservation organization
• North American Native Plant Society - Native plant habitat preservation and restoration, seminars, workshops, events, advice, plant sales, seed library, conservation projects and publications
• Ontario Greenbelt - A 2 million acre tract of farmland, forests, wetlands, rivers, and lakes in southern Ontario
• Ontario Nature - Conservation, education and public engagement
• Ontario Tallgrass Prairie and Savanna Association (Tallgrass Ontario) - Recovery and conservation of tallgrass and savanna species and habitat, publications, presentations
• Ottawa Wildflower Seed Library - YouTube channel with how to save, share and sow native plant seeds
• Pollinator Partnership Canada - Pollinator ecosystem conservation and education
• Research Gate - Scientific community, studies, papers, etc.
• Sundaura Alford-Purvis - YouTube Channel with educational webinars on land care, gardening, horticulture & landscape planning
• Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada: Calls to Action and The United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People - Indigenous rights with respect to pollinator stewardship
• Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation - Pollinator and other invertebrate advocacy and education

Conversations & Writings

• Catriona (Cate) Sandilands - Professor, author of Rising Tides: Reflections for Climate Changing Times and other publications
  • Botanical colonialism and biocultural histories with Green Dreamer Podcast 
  • Website 
• Douglas Tallamy - Professor, scientist, author
  • Nature's Best Hope: A New Approach to Conservation That Starts in Your Yard and other publications
• Heather Holm, Pollinator conservationist and author of multiple bee and pollinator books
  • ​Website
    
• Kamea Chayne's Green Dreamer Podcast - scholar, knowledge seeker
  • Boundless entanglements with the virosphere - with Eben Kirksey
  • How regenerative language can light the way towards planetary healing - with Farmer Rishi
• Larry Cornelis - Conservationist, horticulturalist, naturalist, author 
  • ​Trees, Forests and Nature in Southwestern Ontario (Self-published, 2023) order via the family farm Honeylocust Homestead 
• Lorraine Johnson - Cultivation activist, author of A Garden for the Rusty-Patched Bumblebee and other publications 
  • Cultural Values and How they Frame Horticultural Norms - Excerpts: Lorraine Johnson - with Sundaura Alford-Purvis
  • Website
• Dr. Lyla June Johnston - Indigenous publics speaker, artist, scholar, anad community organizer 
  • Architects of Abundance: Indigenous Regenerative Land Management and the Excavation of Hidden History - Presentation at the North Carolina Botanical Garden, 2023
  • Possibilities of Regeneration - A short film exploring the origins of regenerative agriculture, offering a story that is both new and ancient in its roots. (Kiss the Ground, 2023)
  • Website
• Mary Siisip Geiusz, Author, and Wendy Makoons Geniusz, Editor:
  • Plants Have So Much to Give Us, All We Have to Do Is Ask. Anishinaabe Botanical Teachings (University of Minnesota Press, 2015. ISBN: 978-0-8166-9676-5)
• Rick Gray, Native plant gardener, blogger and author:
  • The Gardener’s Guide to Native Plants of the Southern Great Lakes Region co-authored with Shaun Booth (Firefly Books, 2024, ISBN: 9780228104605)
  • Website
• Robin Wall Kimmerer - Mother, scientist, professor, member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation, author
  • Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants (Milkweed Editions, 2015. ISBN: 9781571313560)
  • The Serviceberry: An Economy of Abundance - Essay with audio (Emergence Magazine, 2020)
  • Tales of Sweetgrass and Trees: Robin Wall Kimmerer & Richard Powers with Terry Tempest Williams Event recording posted to YouTube (Harvard University, 2019)
  • ​Website
• Rowan White - Farmer, seedkeeper, garden mentor, author
  • ​The Native Seed Revolution with The Native Seed Pod podcast
  • Reseeding the Food System interview with audio and Three Sisters photo essay (Emergence Magazine, 2019)
  • ​Sierra Seeds supports farmers, gardeners, food justice activators
• Suzanne Simard - Professor, scientist, author of Finding the Mother Tree and other publications
  • ​Finding the Mother Tree - interview with audio (Emergence Magazine, 2022)
  • Website​ 

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