I’m excited to announce that Ashcroft’s “Butterflyway” has come back to life this year!
Thanks to help and support from the Village of Ashcroft, the canoe near the bridge now has a source of water. Thanks to Jim Duncan, it was cleaned out, and Jim and I replanted it with some flowers from his garden and some seeds selected by Anne McKague, the former Ashcroft resident who was behind the Butterflyway project in town.
The box by the Fields store has also come back to life, and with the watering system that Jim Duncan installed and the willingness of Alida and the staff to take care of the system, the box is full of many types of beautiful flowers and bushes that are attractive to our winged friends. Thanks to Jim again, and to the Fields staff!
Then there is the rowboat by the main fire hall. It was the most difficult to figure out, but again, Jim stepped up, and together we built a stand and a 45-gallon barrel with a simple weeping water system to help water the plants. Brenda from Home Hardware has agreed to manage the boat, and she added some flowers from her place to supplement those that were initially planted. Thanks to WorkSafe BC for the use of their water tap outside to help fill the drum, and to the firefighters, who will help to keep the drum full.
The other communal Butterflyway garden is in the community garden on Railway Avenue. It has been trimmed up, and soon will have a few new plants to generate more diversity in the plants already there.
Please note, as you walk around town, those who have worked hard to increase the pollinator-friendly plants in their yards as well: thanks to all! Thanks also to the HUB, which continues to have a wild but very pollinator-friendly garden around their building, to the Journal, which has a Butterflyway garden near the front garden, and everyone else who maintains these welcoming spaces.
The butterflies, bees, wasps, hummingbirds, and all pollinator species extend profound thanks to Jim, Alida, Brenda, the village crew, the firefighters, and all whose personal growing spaces are so welcoming. We continue to seek helpers to maintain these spaces, and create more in this beautiful community. Contact me at St. Alban’s Church or at revlinda.stalbans@gmail.com.
