The SACY (Supporting and Connecting Youth) group had lots of fun painting the garden signs last Thursday and digging up the two areas where the ground cover was planted (where the blue berries will be going plus part of one of the veg beds). They completed painting the new veggie signs for the common areas we are planting. Lots of fun was had drawing veggie faces. Thank you to Anya, varouj and Susan for making this happen.
Renewable Energy Demonstration on the Shed
Working with SPEC and their Renewable Energy team, we have a solar panel and wind turbine on the shed. On the ‘information board’ to the right side of the door, are the 4x volt/amp/watt meters for each of the energy sources. The UBC Environment Studies students we are working with this year will be putting up an information poster. There is more to come to support our garden including rainwater collection and an irrigation system for the espalier orchard.
Early Pollinators Activity In the Garden
Did you know that the Garden’s border is composed of pollinator friendly plants and most perennial plants, trees and shrubs in the garden were chosen because they provide pollen and nectar for native bees and other pollinators? The biodiversity of these plants supports a large number of species of native pollinators from early spring to fall. This bee was seen recently in on the Pulmonaria “Mrs Moon” in our woodland area. Our Madame Beespeaker, Lori tells us that this is a queen Vosnesenskii Bumble Bee (also known as yellow-faced bumble bee). When you visit the garden, what other pollinators do you see?
We will be hosting Lori Weidenhammer, Madame Beespeaker in our garden as she leads us on a Pollinator Walk and artful mapping. She will share with us the importance of bees for food production and the types of plants that support our bees. Check our event calendar for more information and be sure to subscribe to our newsletter and like/follow us on Facebook.
