Upcoming Events in 2024
PawPaw ParadeThe annual Pawpaw Parade is happening now! Join us in celebrating this beautiful native tree and largest native fruit.
The Middlesex Centre Pollinator Team is partnering with Carolinian Canada alongside over 25 other groups to help 500 pawpaw trees return to the landscape in communities across the Carolinian Zone. Throughout the parade, pawpaws will be donated, given away, and sold to participants who want to grow healthy landscapes and restore this special tree. Join us in celebrating native plants in the Carolinian Zone by planting the tree bearing our largest native fruit: the Pawpaw (Asimina triloba)! Growing native plants and trees helps us heal the land and creates essential habitat for native species. Register your garden for free on the In the Zone (ITZ) Tracker today and share your story through the Pawpaw Parade module for a chance to win a pair of pawpaw trees: caroliniancanada.ca/pawpaw The Pawpaw Parade module application access ends on Friday, September 27, 2024 before midnight. Want to secure pawpaws and give back to the parade? Purchase a pair through the Pawpaw Parade Pop-Up Shop Fundraiser at shop.caroliniancanada.ca! Visit caroliniancanada.ca/pawpaw to learn more, apply for the giveaway, or purchase pawpaws and support future Pawpaw Parades! If you selected the Middlesex Centre Pollinator Team as your PawPaw pick-up location, you can pick up at our PawPaw event on Sunday, October 20, 2024 from 10am to 2pm at the Ilderton Heritage Park - 22609 Hyde Park Road, Ilderton, Ontario, N0M 2A0. Stay up to date on our Facebook Event Page here. #PawpawParade |
Native Plant Talk and ExchangeJoin the Middlesex Centre Pollinator Team at the Komoka Library and Community Centre for a discussion on native plants and invasive species, and a tour of the pollinator planter beds for a demonstration of how to collect seeds.
This event will be happening during our Native Plant Exchange. Bring a plant, take a plant! Drop by the library to donate and/or adopt native fall perennials. Date: Saturday, October 5, 2024 Time: 10:30am to 11:30am Location: Komoka Library - 1 Tunks Lane, Komoka, Ontario To register for the Native Plant Talk, please click here. |
Last Market DayCome and visit the Middlesex Centre Pollinator Team booth at the Komoka Community Market. Here are our remaining market dates:
Come for a chat and some native plant seedlings! The Komoka Community Market details are:
Be sure to follow us on Facebook and Instagram for our plant list in advance of the market dates and to learn more about pollinators and the plants they like |
Past Events
Book Signing with Native Plant Book Authors, Lorraine Johnson, Rick Gray and Shaun BoothOn June 1, 2024, we were honoured by three knowledgeable native plant authors signing their books and chatting about pollinators, plants and biodiversity. Following the book signing at the Komoka Community Market, we gathered for a community plant walk at Ethan's Garden.
Event page here. |
Komoka Community Market Opening DayThe Komoka Community Market is now open for the season! The Middlesex Centre Pollinator Team will be there until October 12, 2024 (our last day).
Come and visit us for native plant seedlings or just to chat! We sometimes post our weekly plant list on social media so be sure to follow us on Facebook and Instagram!
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Compost SaleWe had a successful compost fundraising sale on May 18, 2024.
We could not have done it without the generous compost donation from Try Recycling Inc... thank you! We also want to thank GHN Group for loaning us the skid steer, the Municipality of Middlesex Centre for providing the space and to our hard-working volunteers. |
Go Wild Grow Wild Green ExpoThis event on May 4, 2024 at the Western Fair District Agriplex by Carolinian Canada was a great success! The Middlesex Centre Pollinator Team had a fabulous time exhibiting, visiting with other exhibitors and listening to the amazing lineup of speakers.
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Earthfest LondonWe had a lovely time exhibiting, sharing native plant species seeds and plants and chatting about pollinators at Earthfest London on April 20, 2024.
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Seedy Saturday LondonWe had a blast sharing free native plant seeds with the community at Seedy Saturday in London on March 2, 2024. Thank you to our friends, the London Middlesex Master Gardeners for hosting a wonderful event!
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PawPaw ParadeThank you to all who joined us on October 22, 2023 to celebrate our native PawPaw tree by picking up your Carolinian Canada PawPaw seedling, joining us for a PawPaw planting at Ethan's Garden, enjoying the delicious PawPaw fruit tasting and watching our Winter Sowing Demo (a lucky 10 participants got free winter sowing kits)!
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Komoka Community Market CompletionSaturday, October 7, 2023 was our last day at the Komoka Community Market as the 2023 market season came to completion.
It has been the highlight of our year to spend our summer at this wonderfully organized market to chat with fellow nature lovers and native plant gardeners, and to grow, care for and prepare our native plant seedlings with our dedicated volunteer to share with you all. |
London Middlesex Master Gardeners Presentation and TourOn September 13, 2023, the Middlesex Centre Pollinator Team was pleased to host the London Middlesex Master Gardeners for a guided tour of Ethan's Garden, located in the heart of Komoka Park. Christine and Joe Fonseca shared about the creation of this native plant memorial garden in honour of their son, Ethan, and others from the community who have passed.
After the tour, team member, Pat Fowler, shared a presentation about winter sowing. See videos of the tour on our Facebook and Instagram. |
Butterflies, Birds & Beyond! FestivalCamp Kee-Mo-Kee is hosted their annual festival on July 29, 2023, welcoming the community to experience the camp's natural habitat, learn about the Carolinian Forest and share in the spirit of environmental stewardship. The Middlesex Centre Pollinator Team was happy to be there with native pollinator plant for sale and a few giveaways!
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Celebrate NatureOn June 17, 2023, the Middlesex Centre Pollinator Team and Ethan's Garden hosted a day of family fun to celebrate nature. Thank you to all who attended!
Special thanks to our keynote speakers, Larry Cornelis, Rick Gray, and Nicholas Armstrong (Nature Conservancy of Canada); our informative and generous exhibitors; the amazing growers and nurseries that participated in our Native Plant Nursery Showcase; the Warrior Womyn of Positive Drum for the opening drum & song, mayor Aina DeViet, municipal councillor Sue Cates; our planning committee and event day volunteers! |
Compost SaleWe held a successful annual Compost Fundraising Sale on May 20, 2023. Thank you to those who bought compost. We hope your gardens enjoy the wonderful nourishment!
A big thank you Try Recycling Inc for sponsoring the event with the generous amount of compost, to GHN Group for loaning us the skid steer, to the Municipality of Middlesex Centre for providing the space and to our hard-working volunteers. We raised $2,000 that will help us with community planting projects. Thank you! |
Komoka Community Market Opening DayMay 20, 2023 was first day of the Komoka Community Market season! We will be there Saturdays at our booth selling native plants. Visit us to chat all about native plants and pollinators. Bring home a plant or two... or more!
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Pollinator Gardens PresentationOn May 6, 2023, Middlesex Centre Pollinator Team members, Margaret Gelinas and Donna Slater, Master Gardener, presented an educational talk about Pollinator Gardens to the South Lobo Women’s Institute. It was a lovely time!
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