Container gardening workshop: Supporting our pollinators!

Did you know that the types of plants in your garden can have food or habitat value for important wildlife? Native birds, bees and butterflies have evolved over the years alongside specific plant species and need them to thrive.

Pollinators are animals (such as birds or insects) that move pollen from one flower to another, fertilizing our crops and other important plants. Pollinators are important for our food system and for the ecosystem but are threatened by habitat loss, pesticide use, and climate change.

The good news is that you can help! If you have access to outdoor space, you can grow a native garden that provides healthy food and natural habitat for our native pollinators. The more of these gardens there are, the more our pollinators are supported!

If you have access to garden beds, that’s great! For the purpose of this workshop, we will be working with containers as an excellent way to create pollinator habitat with a minimum of space.

Join us to learn more about what pollinators are and why native plants are important, and then get your hands dirty with our interactive gardening workshop—no experience necessary!

What you’ll need to grow your pollinator garden

- All-purpose potting soil (~ 10-15 L)

- 4 or more peat seed starting containers, with drainage holes (~2 inches in diameter)

- 4 or more seedling containers, with drainage holes (~4 inches in diameter)

- 1 large planter, with drainage hole (~14 inches in diameter)

- 4 species of seeds native to the mixed wood plain of Montreal

- Enough outdoor space for one large planter (~ 14 x 14”)

You don’t need to have these materials ready in time for the workshop—nor do you necessarily need to participate on the day! If you register, the recording and accompanying downloadable instructions will be available to guide you whenever you are ready to get planting.

Step by step, we’ll discover how easy it is to plant gardens that make a difference to our wildlife!

Visit our web page for more information on choosing pollinator species and for the option to register for seeds and containers!

Participate in the event by registering for the Zoom meeting or watching live on our Facebook!

Have questions? Send them to info.4@concordia.ca

This event is offered in collaboration with the Office of Sustainability, the mind.heart.mouth garden, the Concordia University Center for Creative Reuse (CUCCR) and 4TH SPACE, as part of the WWF Living Planet @ Campus program at Concordia.

Workshop leaders

Cassandra Lamontagne is the Sustainability Coordinator in Concordia’s Office of Sustainability. She coordinates the WWF Living Planet @ Campus program as well as other sustainability programs, assessments, and activities at Concordia.

Andrea Tremblay is a PhD student in the INDI program at Concordia University. In 2019, in the context of my MA in Media Studies, and with the support of SAF, she launched the mind.heart.mouth collective garden on the Loyola campus.

mind.heart.mouth’s mission is to generate opportunities between members of the Concordia community and community organizations serving older adults who might be food insecure to come together. In the garden, volunteers can learn to grow food while also getting the opportunity to interact with natural elements in ways that promote care for our ecosystems, for other living beings, and for our intergenerational community. Access to land to grow one’s own food is a powerful asset in fighting against one’s condition of food insecurity. Throughout the summer and fall, volunteers can participate in working sessions, benefit from the harvest, and contribute to our community’s well-being and emergency food supply.