The Border Free Bee Project, which included the City of Richmond’s Pollinator Pasture, has received the 2017 Pollinator Advocate Award for Canada.
“The City of Richmond is strongly committed to being a sustainable community, which includes preserving and protecting our local environment,” said Richmond Mayor Malcolm Brodie.
As part of Richmond’s Bath Slough Revitalization Initiative, the city established a 1,000-foot pollinator pasture (or wildflower meadow) in the Bridgeport Industrial Park in 2015, which is accessible from the Bath Slough Trail.
It is Richmond’s first dedicated wildflower meadow, created to attract a variety of native pollinators including bees and butterflies.
“The Pollinator Pasture enhances our natural ecology, while supporting pollinators, such as bees and butterflies, who are a critical and endangered part of our eco-system,” said Brodie.
Presented by the North American Pollinator Protection Campaign, the Pollinator Advocate Award honours educational outreach resulting in increased awareness of the importance of pollinators and pollination.
The Pollinator Advocate Awards, which are awarded to one recipient annually in Canada, the U.S. and Mexico, support the North American Pollinator Protection Campaign’s goal to encourage environmental stewardship and to catalyze future actions that benefit pollinators.
The Border Free Bees Project mission raises awareness of the plight of pollinators.
The pasture has successfully transformed an underused greenway into a dynamic urban park, designed to incorporate ecological revitalization initiatives and public art.
