Planting for the future brings new homes for native species at Calgary’s Rotary Park

Something beautiful is blooming at Rotary Park in Calgary, as the city plants native species to bring back the birds, bees, and butterflies that call our beautiful city home.

Nathan Gill, owner of Ecologic Horticulture, teamed up with the city to provide the native species of plants to make this project, meant to reinvigorate the greenspace surrounding the Centre Street Bridge lion sculpture, a big success.

“We are revitalizing this park … it was in need of some TLC,” he told CityNews on Saturday.

“We were looking for a way to promote native plants to Calgarians–to use them in their gardens.”

Gill donated the native shrubs, grasses and flowers, while the city says Golden Acre Home and Garden and Eagle Lake Turf Farm and Landscape Supply donated additional plants and materials.

Some native plant species being planted include the smooth blue aster, low and Canada goldenrod, and yarrow.

The project brought out over 30 volunteers to help with the planting, and for one volunteer, this was a very meaningful thing to be a part of.

“I wanted to make a difference and help out the earth any way I can because I believe the land speaks to us, but are we listening?” he said.

“And honestly, it’s just the perfect day to do it. Make a difference, however small.”

The section of the park has been fenced off, but will be removed later in the summer when the plants are established.

The city says once those native plants are established, they’ll only need rainfall or water after two weeks of consistent hot weather with little rain.

City of Calgary’s Caylee Dyck says native plants are more in tune with Calgary’s seasons compared to non-native plants.

“That means that they can be a bit slower to germinate initially, and they tend to wake up a little later in the season, compared to non-native plants,” she said in a release.

“In many cases, native plants establish faster and more successfully than non-natives with less help from us. This is because they evolved alongside local climate, soil and other factors, giving them a competitive advantage.”

This is not the first project with native plants, the city’s Parks and Open Spaces spokesperson Rachelle Nuytten tells CityNews, adding it’s important for the city’s wildlife.

“It’s something that we regularly do throughout the city to create those homes for all of our wildlife that depend on those native plants. There are certain insects that they just can’t just get pollen from any plant, they need to get pollen from native plants. They are designed that way,” she said.

“And we want to do what we do in all of our parks to add more homes for wildlife, so adding native plants was the way to do that.”

This also comes as the Centre Street Bridge lion sculpture has been repeatedly vandalized over the years. There is new lighting meant to deter vandals while also highlighting the statue’s “historical and artistic significance–especially at night.”