The David Suzuki Foundation is recruiting Richmond volunteers to take part in the award-winning Butterflyway Project as “Butterflyway Rangers.”
The resident-led project aims every year to reimagine gardens, lawns, roadsides, parks and schoolyards as neighbourhood-wide networks of habitat for wild bees and butterflies, fuelled by the enthusiasm and ingenuity of local rangers.
Anyone, young and old, interested in becoming a rangers has until Feb. 13 to apply.
They will receive free online training, official ranger T-shirts and Butterflyway garden signs, plus ongoing support from David Suzuki Foundation staff and the community of over 1,000 trained rangers.
Last year, students from Anderson and Mitchell elementaries took part in the recent Butterflyway BioBlitz project.
And in 2020, Richmond was the first city in the region to get a "butterflyway."
“They say not all heroes wear capes. Some wear wings!” said Butterflyway Project lead Jode Roberts.
“Butterflyway Rangers have been volunteering their time and energy to not only help at-risk pollinators survive and thrive for the past five years, but also to beautify and connect their communities.
“Especially during lockdowns, it’s important to get to know your neighbours and see a few more flowers in your yard.”
Over the past five years, rangers in hundreds of communities across the country established native wildflower plantings in their neighbourhoods.
In 2021 alone, the rangers established new butterflyways — consisting of 12 or more new wildflower plantings — in 61 communities.
These gardens provide habitat for wild bees and butterflies, while also contributing to the beauty and sustainability of neighbourhoods.
For more information about the Butterflyway Project, visit www.davidsuzuki.org/butterflyway
