Friends of Stoney Creek continue through pandemic (UTRCA weekly, July 30, 2021)
The volunteer work of the Friends of Stoney Creek has continued through the pandemic. This spring, volunteers prepared the second plot for the Friends’ pollinator garden, which UTRCA staff then planted on May 27. Species planted included: black eyed Susan, bergamot, white coneflower, purple coneflower, butterfly milkweed, coreopsis, blanket flower, and lavender.
COVID-19 may have delayed the project, but the extra year allowed the Friends to use chemical-free methods to prepare the plots. A tarp was used at one site to eradicate the grass and the second site was prepped by rototilling. The City of London’s Neighbourhood Decision Making program provided funding for the project.
The Friends of Stoney Creek are a group of concerned citizens who work with the UTRCA, the City of London and the local community to improve the health of Stoney Creek. Since 1992, the Friends and their partners have been implementing hands-on stream rehabilitation projects along the creek, creating educational opportunities, and sharing their experience and knowledge.
Previous projects have included:
- Thames River Clean Ups at various areas across the watershed;
- Attending the (regularly annual) Go Wild Grow Wild event;
- Invasive species removal days targeting buckthorn, garlic mustard, and other non-native plants;
- Regular weeding of the wildflower plots that have been planted;
- Adopt A Park clean ups at Hastings Park;
- Thousands of native trees and shrubs planted in the Stoney Creek watershed through the UTRCA’s Communities for Nature program;
- Annual Community Day tree plantings;
- Watershed Report Card Program field trips for local students; and
- Installing trail signs along Stoney Creek.
We asked Carol Agocs, Friends of Stoney Creek volunteer, about her involvement with the group.
1) How did you get involved with the pollinator garden project?
“There were community projects in London to create pollinator gardens in response to concern about the decline of monarch butterfly and native bee populations in recent years. I thought about the potential of the unused city-owned space next to the new Stoney Creek bridge and the road allowance on the other side of the road. It seemed to me that this space was well suited to creating a pollinator garden that would add to the biodiversity of the Stoney Creek area and be an attractive addition to our neighbourhood. When I became aware of the City’s Neighbourhood Decision Making program I decided to propose the idea of a pollinator garden so that funds would be available to create the new garden as a project of our Friends of Stoney Creek community organization. We publicized the proposal in the neighbourhood and were delighted when the community voted in support of our project.”
2) What are the benefits of being involved with the Friends of Stoney Creek group?
“I first got involved with the Friends of Stoney Creek in the early 1990s soon after the group formed. I live close to the creek and have always taken daily walks beside it. At the time, the creek was being polluted by upstream development sites that were releasing silt into the creek when it rained. The creek water was unhealthy for the fish and turtles living there. I found that others in the Friends group were also concerned about this. Together, we could be more effective advocates for the protection of our creek than by acting alone. Over the years, it’s been great to work as a group on advocating for better controls on development sites, planting trees and shrubs along the creek, cleaning up litter and junk, and involving other neighbours in community days. It’s been satisfying to meet and work with others in the neighbourhood and to succeed in helping to improve and sustain the quality of the creek environment.”
Residents are quick to acknowledge the benefits of the group’s work for the area. Catherine Burr, a local resident, shared, “What an absolute delight it is to see the bright and beautiful colours of the pollinator gardens — such healthy and diverse plants, already alive with various pollinators. Neighbours have followed the preparation, planting, and now blooming of the gardens with great interest and lots of questions about pollinator flowers, bugs, and why having these patches of pollinator plants is important to healthy ecosystems. One of the unexpected pleasures is to see strangers stop and quietly enjoy the beauty these gardens provide. Young and old are learning, and enjoying our neighbourhood project.”