Welcome to the latest issue of the Nearby Nature Project! Over 25 years ago I learned that fostering my relationship with Mother Nature is essential to my well-being. So I garden, walk, hike, cycle, kayak or otherwise spend time with Nature, just about every day.

I’m not alone in discovering that being outside is good for mind and body. Mainstream media articles regularly extoll the benefits of spending time in nature. And hashtags like #playoutside, #optoutside, and #greentimenotscreentime have communities of followers. I reflect on my Nature connectedness and share resources and news stories in these Nearby Nature Project blog posts.

Over the past few months, my determination to finish documenting our 2024 trips to the UK and Greenland took precedence over pretty much everything else. I still enjoyed a couple of extended walks each week, and watching birds visit our suet block feeder, but that’s about it. On top of that, Canada’s federal election and the tsunami of headlines related to the start of Trump’s second term as President mean there haven’t been many Nature-related stories in my news feed lately. So I’m going to skip that regular section this time around.

Cultivating My Nearby Nature Connection

About two months ago I attended Calgary Horticultural Society’s “Think Spring” virtual event. I appreciated that replays were available over the following week; I don’t like to sit in front of my computer for 6 hours in a day, even if it is to learn about plants and pollinators!!

Sharing key takeaways with you creates a resource I can look back to in future years. So here goes!

Moths: The Forgotten Pollinators by Lyndon Penner

• Moths are superb pollinators.
• Bug zappers kill months, including the good ones (there are only a few problematic ones).
• Fragrance is important for attracting moths to your garden, especially at night.
• Flowers that support moths include: peacock gladiolus; cosmos (all pollinators love them); evening-scented stocks, jasmine nicotiana (tobacco), matrix pansies and dianthus (especially Rainbow Loveliness).

My key takeaway from this session? Plant cosmos! It’s been a few years since I grew these, and they are a lovely addition to a sunny garden space!

Why Urban Residents are Essential in Supporting Biodiversity by Carly Ziter

• Biodiversity is inherently more resilient (than monoculture – for example, elm trees across North America are succumbing to Dutch Elm Disease, with Alberta the lone holdout region in Canada, although Elm Scale is making Calgary’s elm trees more susceptible).
• Towns and cities tend to have their “go to” tree species; as a result, ~ 30% of tree species in Calgary are only found on private land.
• Biodiversity is good for mental well-being; for example, the more kinds of birds you can hear when you’re outside, the bigger the boost in your happiness / life satisfaction (report on study here).
• If you have space to plant things, plant mostly native trees, shrubs, grasses and flowers because they create habitat to support native bees and wildlife.

My biggest action item from this session relates to my take away from the next session – when replanting after a section of lawn comes out, select primarily native plants that support pollinators and birds.

Alternative Lawns by Joanna Tschudy and Nathan Gill

• Begin by asking whether you’re prepared to shrink your lawn. You don’t have to get rid of your lawn all at once!
• Once the lawn is out, consider using montaine mulch to minimize weed growth.
• And then, before replanting, answer “what is the purpose of the space?” If it’s going to be used for play or by pets, consider microclover or Dutch clover, which will stand up to mowing. Low growing serum is a great (but more expensive option) under trees.

How to Support Birds with Native Plants by Sara Jordan-McLachlan

• There are 419 bird species in Alberta, including ~ 200 in Calgary and I suspect roughly the same in Canmore.
• Birds provide ecosystem services and are a key indicator of biodiversity / environmental health.
• Birds need food (native shrubs and trees, which also support insects which birds eat for protein), water and shelter (native trees and shrubs); try to provide all three if you have space.
• Suggested native plants: trembling aspen, white spruce, balsam/poplar, willow shrubs, snowberry and dogwoods.

While we won’t have room for another tree in the area where we’re removing some lawn this year, I will definitely consider some of the suggested shrubs. I’d want compact shrubs that bear fruit, if possible. White Snowberry ticks both boxes, although they tend to sucker, so hmmm….

My Nearby Nature Connection

Birding

Woot! We spotted our first American Robins just last week. And a bald eagle migrating through Canmore a couple of weeks ago. The dark-eyed juncos have also returned. All of which means spring is on it’s way, even though heavy snowfalls over the past two weeks suggest otherwise.

In addition to spring birds, I’ve spotted catkins popping out on some deciduous trees. And a ladybug in our indoor herb garden. Both of which prompted me to smile.

Nature-Friendly Gardening

To help keep our trees healthy, we hired an arborist to prune several deciduous trees in our yard. The work was completed in early March, which is good timing for fruit-bearing trees. We have a few evergreens to limb up (it’s part of the natural process for lower limbs of evergreens to die off as the tree matures) and will get to that in April.

I’m also thinking about what to plant once we shrink our lawn. That work isn’t started because the ground is still frozen. This year may end up being a “fallow” year, with the fresh soil covered in mulch. But I hope to plant at least a couple of native shrubs and scatter some flower seeds in that area.

And it will soon be time to start planting the vegetable garden. I need to amend the soil with some well-rotted sheep manure this spring, so I need to get that organized. My parents proudly reported their garlic is already sprouted with tops at least 12-15 cm out of the ground – and that was 3 weeks ago!!! Where are you at with your gardening plans for 2025?

Call to Action / Upcoming

If you’re interested in learning more about wildlife-friendly gardening, Canadian Wildlife Federation has a free online course covering the basics of wildlife-friendly gardening. Details and registration are available here.

If you’re specifically interested in supporting bees and other pollinators, Alberta Motor Association has a list of action items here.

I look forward to picking up my camera and heading outside again! Watch for more photos, more articles and book reviews in the coming months. And thanks for your patience while I worked through my backlog of travel posts! Meanwhile, I wish you quality time with Nature.