KNRegenS
Sowing seeds of diversity
Who We Are
The Kanata North Regeneration Stewards are a team of multiethnic, multiracial, intergenerational, and neurodiverse volunteers with the goal of restoring biodiversity, while bridging connections that improve our community’s social and ecological well-being through community-led stewardship.
Restore | Engage | Regenerate | Inclusively
"We are all connected; To each other, biologically. To the earth, chemically. To the rest of the universe atomically.” ~Neil DeGrasse Tyson
Kanata North Regeneration Stewards are slowly transforming sections of noxious weeds and invasive plant species into wonderfully rich mini-meadows, filled with colourful native wildflowers for bees, butterflies, and people to enjoy in the Morgan's Grant Right-of-Way. A small (but expanding) pollinator patch now sits at the entrance to the Kanata North Community Garden just north of Klondike Rd. The new much larger Kanata North Pollinator Patch is in progress just south of Klondike at Abbeydale Circle.
Knowing that we depend on pollinators for 1 out of every 3 bites of food, concerned and engaged citizens are trying to do our part to help support them. We are proud to be part of the Wild Pollinator Partners network of people and organizations working together to make a difference, and the Canadian Wildlife Federation’s Rights-of-Way Habitat Networks. The Ottawa Stewardship Council works with, and actively supports us, as our main partner and collaborator.
Pollinator habitat restoration projects began in the Morgan's Grant Right-of-Way in 2017, when Hydro One cleared and reseeded much of the area between Terry Fox to just North of Brady with native wildflowers and grasses designed to choke out invasive species like toxic Wild Parsnip; as part of its required infrastructure maintenance program. You can find detailed background information on the OSC's website here: https://www.ottawastewardship.org/category/morgans-grant/
Pollinators have been on a steep decline for decades. Multiple threats including habitat loss, pesticide use and climate change are largely to blame. Large scale immediate changes to land use are necessary to reverse this trend. A host of ecological and economic benefits derive from creating and enhancing pollinator habitat.
Urban meadows are healthy greenspaces full of self-sustaining native plants and grasses that provide habitat for pollinators and help us fight climate change. Pollinators are crucial for maintaining healthy ecosystems and our food web. Plants need them for reproduction, and we need pollinators to help plants make food for us.
Urban meadows help cool the environment and sink carbon. Deep-rooted native perennials also slow and absorb stormwater while filtering and improving water quality. Aside from these bonuses, the vibrant and rich beauty of meadow landscapes positively impact our own well-being. Studies show that being in nature helps to improve our moods and regulate our nervous systems, among other wonderful things.
"Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, do better." - Maya Angelou
Did you know?
“People who engage in hands-on, nature-focused activities and park stewardship (over other park activities) report powerful social connections; a sense of belonging, meaning and purpose in their lives; greater physical health; and overall life satisfaction. To summarize, a healthier, happier life may begin with getting our hands dirty.”
Park People Releases Cornerstone Parks Reports on Stewardship and Park Use.
“UNLESS someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It’s Not.” -The Lorax by Dr. Seuss
At 1,131 sq. ft. the new Kanata North Pollinator Patch is hard to capture in a single image. The 5-September-23 photos in the infographic above show the seedlings heavily mulched due to a heat wave and stiff competition from long-standing perennial weeds.
A successful pollinator garden must provide: pollen-rich flowers and nectar for food, nesting sites, butterfly host plants to feed their caterpillars, and a variety of flowers of different shapes and sizes with continuous blooms from April to October.
This garden contains all of the above through 24 Ontario native plant species including:
Anise Hyssop, Agastache foeniculum
Black-eyed Susan, Rudbeckia hirta
Butterfly Milkweed, Asclepias tuberosa
Canada Anemone, Anemone canadensis
Canada Columbine, Aquilegia canadensis
Canada Milk Vetch, Astragalus canadensis
Common Blue Violet, Viola sororia
Hairy Beardtongue, Penstemon hirsutus
Lanceleaf Coreopsis, Coreopsis lanceolata
Little Bluestem grass, Schizachyrium scoparium
New England Aster, Symphyotrichum novae-angliae
Pearly Everlasting, Anaphalis margaritacea
Philadelphia Fleabane, Erigeron philadelphicus
Prairie Smoke, Geum triflorum
Showy Tick-trefoil, Desmodium canadense
Shrubby St. John’s Wort, Hypericum prolificum
Smooth Blue Aster, Symphyotrichum laeve
Smooth Rose, Rosa blanda
Stiff Goldenrod, Solidago rigida
Sundial Lupine, Lupinus perennis
Upland White Goldenrod, Solidago ptarmicoides
Virginia Mountain Mint, Pycnanthemum virginianum
Wild Bergamot, Monarda fistulosa
Yellow Coneflower, Ratibida pinnata
"Action is the antidote to despair." - Joan Baez
Interested in creating a pollinator garden at home, work, school, or your organization? Here's a great resource: Create Your Own Pollinator Garden
KN Regens are also available to support your efforts to build a pollinator garden as an additional resource.
Have you heard about the Meadoway in Toronto? The Meadoway is transforming a hydro corridor in Scarborough into a vibrant 16-kilometre stretch of urban greenspace and meadowlands that will become one of Canada’s largest linear urban parks.
