Would you like to know more about Canada’s pollinators? Are you thinking of making your outdoor space wildlife-friendly but don’t know how? If so, then you’ll enjoy the Canadian Wildlife Federation’s free online course to help you learn about the wildlife around your community and how to support them — all from the comfort of your home and at your own pace.

This course is for anyone with some outdoor space including schools, businesses or community spaces. It will run from February 14 to April 30, 2022 so you have plenty of time to watch videos and explore the supporting material. Participants will also have the option to chat amongst themselves in the discussion area, to ask questions and share tips as well as their own gardening dreams and efforts. You can even upload photos of your gardening space and any wildlife visitors you have.

To register, visit the CWF's website.

Many gardeners are making room in their yards for native plants like milkweed, which are a good way to support butterflies, bees, and other pollinators, as well as the birds and creatures that depend on them. Master Gardener Linda Dietrick will discuss high-priority native plants that are essential for the survival of local pollinators and that can be attractive additions to garden designs. She will also identify plants that are not native to our region, but can still provide many ecological benefits.

To register for this webinar, visit the City of Winnipeg's Public Library Website.
 

On March 1-3, the Pollinator Friendly Alliance and the Xerces Society is hosting a virtual summit to discuss best practices for pollinators. In this three-day event, you can learn more about land stewardship practices that promote pollinators, climate resilience, clean water and lands. 

To register or find out more information on this great event, visit their registration page. 

As part of Winter Speaker Series hosted by the Friends of the Living Prairie Museum, Dr. Jason Gibbs from the University of Manitoba will be providing an exciting presentation on the wild bees of Manitoba. Information below:

January 25 – The Wild Bees of Manitoba, Dr. Jason Gibbs, University of Manitoba – REGISTER ONLINE

Bees are recognized as critically important pollinators. But how many bees do we actually recognize? Manitoba’s diverse bee fauna will be reviewed, including but not limited to leafcutter bees, sweat bees, cuckoo bees and oil bees.

For more information on this event or other upcoming presentations in the series, visit the Living Prairie Museum website.

Linda Dietrick, PNGG member, Master Gardener, and former editor of The Prairie Garden, including the 2020 issue, Inspired by Nature, will be the guest speaker for the final meeting of the Prairie Naturals Gardening Group.

Popular projects like Douglas Tallamy’s Homegrown National Park and the David Suzuki Foundation’s Butterflyway call on gardeners to help create habitat for threatened pollinators by planting native plants. The talk will focus on high-priority natives that we should incorporate into our garden designs. It will also help identify those non-natives that may have less ecological value. What that leaves are the many plants that, while they may not be native to our region, can still provide multiple ecological benefits.

The webinar is on Thursday, January 13, 2022, 7:00 PM – 8:30 PM CST. 

Click here to register!