It’s Seed Sitting Season!

*My table at the Dieppe Market last Saturday*

Letters were sent out this fall for the Seed Sitters Club, containing the seeds of five species for this year. Then Samuel donated 24 species to the Club, from the Ottawa Wildflower Seed Library. Whether you were part of this first batch of “Seed Sitters” or not, now is a great time to start your planting for the winter! Our Communications Coordinator Samuel LeGresley, who conducted a webinar this fall (in French) on winter sowing, is excited for the sowing season. He talks to us about his current projects with the Club, and for the near future.

By Samuel LeGresley

As I write this, I’m in Toronto on a trip to learn all about plants, thanks to Nature Canada’s Young Nature Leaders funding.

I travelled to Ottawa in mid-November, and learned about the Ottawa Seed Library’s internal functions to learn more about the best practices for native plant distribution across Canada. But why care at all?

As far as the terrestrial food web goes, plants are where everything starts. As a lot of us know, they’re not only at the base of the food web, but they’re known for converting light into food through photosynthesis.

Then, insect herbivores quite literally convert the plant’s nutrients into protein, giving everyone (including birds, reptiles, amphibians, and mammals, then ourselves) a balanced diet.

According to research led by scientists such as Doug Tallamy – now well-known in popular science as an expert on native plants and those feeding on them – we need to grow more native plants than ever to help curb the biodiversity crisis.

There is growing evidence that the preponderance of nonnative plants in built landscapes may impact the conservation of local biodiversity. Although nonnative plants can extend nectar resources late in the season, their exclusive use in pollinator gardens pose a threat to the dozens of native bee specialists that only reproduce on single native plant genera. Moreover, because native plants support the growth and development of the insects that transfer the most energy from plants to vertebrate food webs far better than nonnative plants, the lack of native species in urban ecosystems depresses populations of the wildlife that helps run those ecosystems. This is particularly true for the terrestrial birds in North America, 96% of which rear their young on insects.” Link to research

We can infer many things from this, but one of the main things that stuck with me was the impact that each one of us can have in our own backyards, or even on a balcony!

My volunteer work as Ranger for the David Suzuki Foundation’s Butterflyway Project in the past three years has not only helped to inform my work at Nature NB, but it has also ignited a desire in me to make native plants “mainstream” again.

In exploring this passion, I connected with the Ottawa Wildflower Seed Library, started by New Brunswicker Melanie Ouellette. This inspired me, more than a year ago, to make my own, and the Greater Moncton Wildflower Seed Library was born.

*Ottawa Wildflower Seed Library has hundreds of species from Ontario, but some are also native to here.*

My work in Ottawa involved creating a bilingual guide called Sharing Our Nature, which will let people know that starting a native plant seed distribution system doesn’t have to be complicated. Through diffusion channels such as DIY events and optional mailings, those interested in reciprocating the gift of nature can donate, garden, and steward local seed libraries all across Canada.

My hope is that the movement, set in motion during the pandemic, will go even further than it already has and teach people how to garden responsibly, while giving them the right plants to do so.

The Seed Sitters Club

A great partnership with MtA’s Biology Department

We were lucky to partner this fall with Mount Allison University’s Biology department. They are creating a series of pollinator-related projects for Dr. Emily Austen’s course, called Native Plants and Pollinators!

It all started even before the Seed Sitters Club was an idea at Nature NB, with an email to Dr. Austen asking if we could get some help with evaluating wildflower seed mixes for people to use in their gardens. This partnership ended up being so fruitful that we drafted a whole course together! Dr. Austen got funding to pay for course expenses, and here we are.

Since then, we have visited their campus to present in class, we’ve been to the Point Lepreau Bird Observatory to tag Monarchs with the students and the Saint John Naturalists Club, we’ve been to Corn Hill Nursery to see how plants are grown, we visited the market in Sackville multiple times, and above all else, we will soon have materials to share with our readers that were created by students to help the cause of pollinators and native plants!

Watch reel on Instagram

Native seeds, Youghall Beach and the NBCC Bathurst’s Environment program

This fall’s Youghall Beach event went very well, strengthening partnerships new and old. We experimented, assisted by Nova Scotia company Helping Nature Heal, with a new technique for strengthening the shorelines along this narrow strip of bank, where Bank Swallows have returned. So far, the project is running successfully, and we are helping the community to take ownership of this project, as it is a beloved public place.

The technique, called a “living shoreline”, aims to lessen the impact of erosion on our shores while strengthening the presence of deep roots in the soil by planting species that will provide stability in the long-term. Previously, the area was grass that was mowed, and it was clear that the soil needed to be strengthened.

Also in the Bathurst area, we conducted a workshop with Birds Canada where we taught some winter sowing techniques to students from NBCC Bathurst’s Environment program. This has the goal to have those students and the community get plants in the ground along the coast in the future to help further reduce shoreline erosion.

Watch video (in French)

For now, you can watch or read the David Suzuki Foundation Webinars and guides. Stay tuned for more content in the coming months made by students of Mount Allison University. And be on the lookout for a guide I am making, all about how to become a Seed Librarian!

Here are some resources on how to start:

Seed Sitters (David Suzuki Foundation)

Ottawa Wildflower Seed Library – How to Winter Sow

Seed Sitters Club – Nature NB