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Castlegar students help plant 1 million seeds for pollinators

Castlegar Butterflyway is creating meadows near the Kootenay Gallery of Art

Local Castlegar students had a unique opportunity last week to help create a meadow that will support butterflies and other pollinators.

The project was organized by Castlegar Butterflyway, which has been working to create pollinator patches in the Castlegar area. Butterflyway is a citizen-led movement to create habitats for bees and butterflies launched by the David Suzuki Foundation.

The group has been concentrating on spaces near the Kootenay Gallery of Art, and this new pollinator meadow has taken months to create.

Clear poly was stretched over the area in June, enabling the summer sun to bake the weeds underneath. Over the summer and early fall the group went out into nature and gathered native plant seeds with the help of the Kootenay Native Plant Society and then purchased more seeds.

Last week, students from Twin Rivers Elementary School joined the work crew to help plant over a million seeds.

Butterflyway organizer Olga Hallborg was excited to have youth participate in the project.

“Let them have a fun seeding party, dance in fuzzy clouds of native seeds, offer them some warm nourishment and wise teachings and more habitats are created for pollinators and native plants, and more keen environmentalists are growing,” said Hallborg.



betsy.kline@castlegarnews.com

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Betsy Kline

About the Author: Betsy Kline

After spending several years as a freelance writer for the Castlegar News, Betsy joined the editorial staff as a reporter in March of 2015. In 2020, she moved into the editor's position.
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