Why Pollinators Matter
One in every three bites of food you eat depends on a pollinator.
Pollinators – like bees, butterflies, birds, bats and even moths – play a vital role in our ecosystems and food production. Here on southern Vancouver Island, over 200 native bee species thrive, along with many other pollinating friends. Without them, most flowering plants couldn’t reproduce. That means fewer fruits, vegetables and healthy habitats for us all.
The Bigger Picture
Healthy ecosystems depend on pollinators. They help clean the air, stabilize soil, support wildlife and provide shelter during extreme weather.
What We’re Doing. 
As part of a citizen science project with UVic Geography students, we began by mapping pollinator gardens throughout our community. Now we are building pollinator corridors – we’ve prepared and planted two sites on Astoria Street at Willerton.
What is a pollinator corridor? It is a pesticide-free pathway of native plants that helps pollinators move between habitats, especially in urban areas.
How You Can Help
You don’t need a large yard to make a difference. Every balcony, boulevard or back yard can become part of the network.
Tips to Get Started
- plant native species – native plants support more species than non-native ornamentals
- grow food? add hedgerows! They attract birds and insects that eat pests
- grow flowers? Interplant native bulbs. They’re often deer-resistant and drought-tolerant
- provide water and bloom variety – choose plants that flower throughout the growing season
- skip the tidy-up – bare soil, dried stalks and leaf litter create homes for pollinators
- say not to pesticides – even treated plants can harm pollinators
- check out Habitat Acquisition Trust’s ‘Gardening with Nature‘
Spotlight: Garry Oak Ecosystems
Garry Oak ecosystems are the most biodiverse native ecosystems in Canada, and they’re right in our back yards – but less than 5% of their original habitat remains.
These ecosystems support:
- 800 insect and mite species
- 104 bird species
- dozens of mammals, reptiles, amphibians and many species at risk
If you have Garry Oaks, let the leaf litter lie – endangered species like the Propertius Duskywing butterfly depend on it
Community in Action
Our neighbours are making a difference! In 2023, Friends of Cedar Hill Park volunteered over 1400 hours with Saanich’s Pulling Together program removing invasive species and planting natives along the Cedar Hill Park chip trail – benefiting pollinators and biodiversity for future generations.
Join the Pollinator Movement
Whether you have a garden, balcony or boulevard, you can help.
- get involved with QCHCA
- start your own native planting
- help us expand the pollinator corridor
For more information and/or to find out how about volunteer opportunities, email us at qchca3003@gmail.com
Share your garden – send us a photo to qchca3003@gmail.com
CHUFF sprouted April 2022 as an initiative of our community association’s Climate Action group. In Saanich, food and our food systems are the third greatest contributor to carbon emissions after transportation and buildings. Food waste plays a significant role. We all eat, and we each have the power to be part of the solution. CHUFF’s goal is to encourage our neighbours to grow more food, consume more local foods, eat more of what is in-season, and to stop wasting food. Luckily for us, on southern Vancouver Island we can grow and purchase good, locally-grown food year round. CHUFF members gather most months, on a Sunday morning. Here is some of what CHUFF offered in its third year, 2024. New members welcome
In early October, work on two pollinator-friendly gardens began on the boulevards on the north and south side of Astoria at Willerton. The project is being led by Susan Morrow, a member of QCHCA’s Climate Action group. The photos are from our first work party building up soil for planting. Two methods were used. In one, we laid a thick layer of cardboard and damped it down. This was followed by a layer of alfalfa and a layer of straw, then strewn with blood and bone meal before being covered with a layer of good top soil. The other method starts with a layer of heavy cardboard, wetted down and then covered with several inches of leaf mulch before the top soil is applied. We have information sheets available on how this is done – email us at qchca3003@gmail.com. We will sow some seeds in each bed in the fall but you there won’t be much to see until spring!
On Sunday April 28th, the QCHCA Climate Action group will host the second annual Going Greener Neighbourhood Tour from 10 to 3 pm. The houses on the tour will be primarily on or near Astoria, between Maplewood Ave and Cedar Hill Park.
CHUFF challenged QCH-area residents to submit winter salad recipes containing 75% home- or locally-grown ingredients . Times-Colonist food columnist Eric Akis featured the contest in an article on winter produce available in our region. By random draw three contest entrants won a selection of Full Circle seeds, and a Root Cellar gift certificate. Thank you sponsors! 
A first-ever for QCHCA and its Climate Action group – a ‘Going Greener’ home and gardens tour. Tour the homes of neighbours who’ve ‘gone greener’ to see and learn about heat pumps; solar; retrofitting and radiant heat; EVs, hybrids and E-bikes; and food grower gardens.
