PG Planting Sites in Guelph
Near 186 Eastview Road, Guelph (43.579755, -80.232067)
Re:Mediate Planting at Eastview Pollinator Park
Near 186 Eastview Road, Guelph (43.580616, -80.232377)
The Gosling Pollinator Gardens at Hospice Wellington
795 Scottsdale Drive, Guelph (43.510323, -80.228999)
395 Southgate Drive, Guelph (43.499835, -80.222093)
Gosling Wildlife Gardens - Entrance Arbour
Near 270 Arboretum Road, Guelph (43.541945, -80.211600)
Near Speedvale Ave/Woolwich St. (43.561224, -80.268256)
Near Speedvale Ave/Woolwich St. (43.558536, -80.265625)
Clair Road Emergency Services Centre
160 Clair Rd W, Guelph, ON (43.496626, -80.193571)
The arbour was designed and constructed by Ben O’Hara of Ben O’Hara Design with help from Pollination Guelph volunteers and funding from local granting agencies. Originally located elsewhere in The Arboretum, it was dismantled and moved to the entrance to the Gosling Gardens when it was no longer needed at its former site.
Eastview Pollinator Park
Borders Speedvale Ave, Watson Road, Eastview Rd
Our largest and most well-known project will create pollinator habitat on the 45ha (112 acre) decommissioned Eastview Landfill site. The Pollinator Park will be one of the first and largest pollinator initiatives to occur in Ontario, Canada, and internationally. It will also highlight the City of Guelph's commitment to being a leader in environmental initiatives.
The Pollinator Park is a long-term, multi-stage project. Work began in the fall of 2012 and the first hectare was seeded in Fall 2013. We plan to seed another two hectares in Fall 2014 and if we can raise the funds, add two hectares a year in future years.
A bee hotel was added in June 2014 through the "Wild for Bees" initiative, which Pollination Guelph was a site partner in. This initiative is sponsored by Burt's Bees, Sustainable.TO, Fairmont Hotels & Resorts, and Pollinator Partnership Canada.
Re:Mediate Planting at Eastview Pollinator Park
Across from the soccer fields near the Pollinator Park fence
Local artists, Christina Kingsbury and Anna Bowen, joined Pollination Guelph on the ReMediate project: a collaborative textile and audio installation at the Eastview Landfill site. It features a quilt, hand-made from recycled paper embedded with native pollinator-friendly seeds, the pieces of which were sewn together on-site by Christina and public participants. Anna Bowen produced a series of poetry vignettes inspired by the history of the site and the making of the quilt. A sculpture in the form of a wooden house filled with stems and wood blocks to provide habitat for tunnel nesting bees was installed on site in 2015.
In 2016, documentation from ReMediate was shown as part of the Gladstone Hotel's GrowOp exhibition in Toronto, as a solo exhibition at the Art Gallery of Guelph's Boarding House Gallery, and at ALT/FUTURES:Eco_ Hack, a video screening in New York City and Taipei (Taiwan). ReMediate, a publication about the project, was published in 2016 and is available for purchase at the Art Gallery of Guelph, PSGuelph and the Bookshelf bookstore.
The Gosling Pollinator Gardens at Hospice Wellington
Corner of Scottsdale Drive and Kortright Rd
Begun in 2012, this multi-year project has created almost 9,000 sq. ft. of pollinator habitat on the grounds of Hospice Wellington. Designed by Pollination Guelph (Conceptual Plan) the gardens are planted with shrubs, grasses and flowering perennials that offer food (pollen and nectar), nesting and overwintering sites for pollinating insects. Seeds and berries attract birds and small mammals to the gardens. Almost all the plants are native to southern Ontario and were chosen to have something in bloom throughout the growing season (Link 1), as well as provide essential forage (leaves) (Link 2) for butterfly and moth caterpillars.
The gardens were planted and are now maintained by volunteers drawn from Pollination Guelph and Hospice Wellington. In stages, between 2012 and 2015, approximately 4,000 sq. ft. of pollinator habitat was created (Link 3).
In 2016 the gardens were renamed The Gosling Pollinator Gardens in recognition of a significant donation from The Gosling Foundation. The donation funded a doubling in the size of the gardens and will also support the further development and maintenance of the gardens for the next ten years.
Sponsored by: The Gosling Foundation
Alectra (Guelph Hydro) Office
One side of a drainage swale, located in front of the Guelph Hydro head office, has been planted with native shrubs and perennials to create pollinator habitat. First planted in the spring of 2013, the gardens (covering an area of 1,500 sq. ft.) have established slowly as they are regularly browsed by deer living in nearby Preservation Park. This full sun site offers growing conditions that range from dry at the upper level to moist at the base of the swale. Native plants such as Blue Flag Iris (Iris versicolour), Canada Anemone (Anemone canadensis) and Swamp Milkweed (Asclepias incarnata) are now well-established in moister areas. Butterfly Milkweed (Asclepias tuberosa), Harebell (Campanula rotundifola), Purple Coneflower (Echinacea purpurea), and Smooth Beard-tongue (Penstemon digitalis) contribute to the pollinator habitat in the drier areas.
Sponsored by:
Gosling Wildlife Gardens - Entrance Arbour
Located in The Arboretum at the University of Guelph:
Through a collaborative project with The Arboretum, funded by The Gosling Foundation, a new arbor was installed at the entrance to the Gosling Wildlife Gardens in 2015. A bed of native plants installed adjacent to the arbour provides habitat for pollinators and native vines will grow up and over the arbour.
The old arbour
The new arbour
Riverside Park East
Off Riverview Drive, near Speedvale and Woolwich
Three flower beds along the trail near the river, just past the windmill, were planted with native shrubs and pollinator-friendly perennials. Interpretive signage at each of the beds draws attention from all park users on various topics ranging from types of bes to how to create your own pollinator-friendly garden.
Trans Canada Trail
Off Speedvale Ave, near Woolwich St
We currently have 2 large beds along the trail, plus some plantings along the edge of the ravine. Our interpretive signage was installed in spring 2014 and will help to educate the hundreds of people who pass along this trail daily.
Our Planting Sites
Pollination Guelph is dedicated to the conservation & development of pollinator habitat for current & future generations. We promote awareness and understanding of the role of pollinators in achieving local & global environmental sustainability goals and showcase world class pollinator projects that are a model for citizens and communities throughout Canada and internationally. Check out some of our pollinator garden projects below.
Clair Road Emergency Services Centre
The turf grass area in front of the Centre was replaced with pollinator-friendly and drought resistant shrubs and flowering plants in spring 2014. This landscaping will add beauty to the area, habitat for wildlife, and save on maintenance costs.
