Five Years: Creating Pollinator Paradise

​The Pollinator Paradise Project, (an initiative of the Hamilton Naturalists' Club and Environment Hamilton) has been going for 5 years. Are you curious about what this looks like at the end of 2019? Well here's a list of what we've been up to all this time:

1. HNC created 33 sites
2. Focal Pollinator Paradise sites created in 6 wards. In 2020, our goal is to have a focal site in each of the 12 urban wards
3. 5,400 native plants (trees, shrubs and wildflowers) planted in public parks, schools, places of worship, private yards – over 30 species 
4. 13 kg of seed sown
5. 277 certified Pollinator Paradise sites on private lands. Our goal is 350 for 2020.
6. 310 habitats built along pollinator network, also enhancing biodiversity
7. Over $320,000 raised for plants and to support 1.5 FTE
8. Over 700 students engaged
9. 23 workshops with over 1,650 participants 
10. McMaster researcher, 2018 field work, found the top species at all sites were sweat bees and small carpenter bees
11. 1 giant mural painted by Hess Street School students (2018)
12. Detailed Toolkit with support from McMaster Masters students on how to create pollinator habitat, including plant lists (2019)
13. Mini Toolkit/flyer on how to create pollinator paradise (2019)
14. Story map that provides details of the planting sites
15. Monarch Awards - 156 entrants, 26 award recipients (2015-2018)
16. Created Instagram account (2015) and now have 1,120 followers. Please follow us on instagram.
17. Social media promotion going strong: In 2019 Bee of the Month, Pollinator Month, and promotional support from our friends at Donut Monster. Promoted hastags #hamontbiodiversity and #MyHamiltonIncludesnature
18. Biodiversity direction started in 2018 and in 2019, we formed a working group to prepare the way for a Biodiversity Action Plan for the City of Hamilton
19. Contributed a series of articles for the local paper,  thespec.com on biodiversity.
20. Planning our 2020 Campaign. GET ON THE MAP: Plant a pollinator garden and help support our local biodiversity.

​We look forward to creating more beautiful pollinator paradise sites with you, in 2020.