Photo: Janelle Jenstad
With its long grasses, camas, sea blush, and other native plants, Janelle Jenstad’s yard has become a place that a deer, birds, ladybugs, butterflies, and bees can call home. She is part of Meadow Makers, a seven-month program that is helping 100 people convert their yards back to Garry oak habitat. Garry oaks were once scattered across what is now Greater Victoria, alongside meadows of blue camas, white Easter lilies, and yellow western buttercups. First Nations maintained Garry oak ecosystems for thousands of years with managed forest fires, and harvested camas from the meadows. But colonization, forest fire suppression, residential development, and invasive species nearly wiped them out. Meadow Makers was created when Kristen Miskelly, co-owner of a native-plant nursery, and Lora Morandin, Western Canada program manager for Pollinator Partnership, decided to help people turn their yards into meadows.
|
|
More:
