Archived Article: Montgomery's Meadow Native Wildflower Planting Project

MONTGOMERY'S MEADOW NATIVE WILDFLOWER PLANTING PROJECT

Building on the City of Etobicoke's success of the 1996 Communities in Bloom competition whereby the city was recognized nationally for its Community Involvement and Environmental awareness, the Montgomery's Meadow wildflower planting was intended to be an experimental and learning site for future naturalized native meadow plantings. The plan was to plant approximately 12,000 wildflower plugs of a variety of suitable indigenous native species encompassing an area of nearly 2,000 square metres. This planting was to be performed by organized groups of volunteers including the Etobicoke Horticultural Society, the Montgomery Rate Payers Association, Girl Guides, Etobicoke Collegiate Institute, Our Lady of Sorrows School and the community. The success of Phase One surpassed our expectations and has led to great enthusiasm to move forward with Phase Two.

Our local government budgets are being cut each year. We, as citizens, can be proactive by becoming involved in environmental initiatives. Etobicoke is fortunate in our parks and forestry department is encouraging and supportive, and give of their own time to assist with the many projects that the community has undertaken.

Montgomery's Meadow is situated within Central Park, just south of Montgomery's Inn (Dundas Street West and Islington Ave.). The site was difficult to manage from a Parks Operations perspective and was identified as a desirable area to be naturalized. As well as Montgomery's Inn, the site is also contiguous to a well-used section of the City bicycle/pedestrian path system. Although the site is located within the valley lands of the Mimico Creek, the recessed exposure of the site affords great learning opportunities for area school children, local citizens, as well as habitat creation for wildlife within the valley.

Replacing the turf with native vegetation would permit the Mimico Creek to act as an ecological link with other habitat restoration projects. In this way we could provide some meadow habitat for rabbits and voles and song birds at all seasons. We also hoped to keep overwintering butterfly chrysalises and other insects.

Native plant selection is in keeping with the historical context of the site and describes a typical meadow in this area at time of settlement. All of the plants we used were native to Southern Ontario and most reflect local genetic adaptations. In this way we hoped to preserve locally specific species of wildflowers.

The project also provided an opportunity to promote the values of natural communities to the public. Familiarity with the native plant communities in our neighbourhoods encourages an appreciation of the inherent beauty and diversity. It encourages an accommodation of these native plants in places where we live.

The goals of the project therefore were to:

1.        Enhance the natural environment through the planting of native wildflowers.

2.        Promote community stewardship. Protecting and nurturing our natural areas provides the community with a sense of place and ownership, resulting in pride and satisfaction.

3.        Become a model demonstration site of different techniques of clearing, planting and maintenance.

Canada Trust through their AFriends of the Environment Foundation gives organizations grants for environmental projects. The Etobicoke Horticultural Society, as a non profit organization and lead partner offered to apply to Canada Trust for a grant of $5,000.00 for the native plant Aplugs. These were purchased from Otter Valley Native Plants and included Swamp Milkweed, Butterfly Milkweed, Monarda fistulosa, Penstemon digitalis, Columbine, Purple Stemmed Aster, Great Blue Lobelia, Geranium, Woodland Sunflower, Carex pensylvanica, Switch Grass, and Rudbeckia hirta to name a few. Native plant seed had previously been collected by others and given to the Humber College School of Horticulture and the Etobicoke Parks Department Greenhouses where seedlings were also grown. Jack in the Pulpits, May Flowers and other native plants were donated. The Etobicoke Parks & Forestry Division also provided forestry staff to assist in preparing the site.

The Meadow was divided into two areas:

1.        An area for late summer-blooming prairie-type flowers which would stand through the winter and be mown in mid-spring.

2.        An area of spring blooming flowers which would be mown in late summer. A yearly mowing is necessary to maintain the meadow-nature of the site.

In late April 1997 the turf was removed by a combination of processes including black plastic and wood chips. Within eight weeks the turf under the plastic was dead and we were ready to get started. In early June, a teacher from Etobicoke Collegiate Institute used the project to involve his students in environmental studies and the students spent one to two hours each day for a week helping to prepare the site, plant shrubs and wildflower plugs (in grids of six plants, 10 inches apart.) The horticultural society organized two evening community planting events where members and the public were invited to bring a trowel and gloves and help plant. The press were invited and even local councillors came down. Approximately 36 volunteers showed up each evening and worked in teams. At the end of each evening the plants were watered and for the next few weeks the watering was done by the parks department staff. Our Lady of Sorrows School also came to help. In some areas mulch was used to keep unwanted weeds out while the young plants became established.

By September, three months after planting, many of the plants were in flower and most plants had survived our dry summer. The plant growth was beyond our expectations. Some knowledgeable local residents would even weed where necessary while strolling in the park. A bench was donated by Etobicoke Hort. Society so residents might rest awhile under the trees.

Planting for Phase Two has already started. A second grant was approved by Canada Trust for another $5,000 to extend our naturalized planting area; to install a protective split rail fencing around the area most liable to damage from foot traffic; build a Achipmunk wall to provide habitat to encourage an increase in the remnant chipmunk population of the area and erect interpretive signage. In September a community planting was organized one Saturday morning when twenty-eight adults and children planted another 1,400 plants. The chipmunk habitat was completed in November and more shrubs planted. The spilt rail fence was install in December.

Anyone who wishes to start another similar project and would like more information may contact Murray Cameron, Barbara Clarke, Cathy Faber, Debby Morton or Trish Murphy.