by Lisa Medd; photos by Barry Parkinson
Nault Park is located in north Vanier, at 325 St. Denis Street. The park has a playground, a water splash pad, a pavilion and large open green space. A pathway runs through the park on the north side, connecting pedestrians and cyclists from Ste. Anne Street to Boudreau Street. Two separate, teardrop-shaped pollinators gardens are set near the pathway. The large sun garden is approximately 28 square metres and the small shade garden is 3.7 square metres. A colourful permanent sign is situated near the larger garden, identifying the pollinator gardens and providing a QR code to the Vanier Community Association’s webpage about the gardens
The Nault Park Pollinator Garden is an initiative of the Vanier Community Association and their Beautification Committee. The project was initially sparked by the committee’s participation in the Suzuki Foundation’s Butterflyway program and the desire to increase local biodiversity and build pollinator habitat.
It took two years for the pollinator garden to become a reality. In 2021 the Beautification Committee of the Vanier Community Association (VCA) was awarded a CEPGP grant from the City of Ottawa to create a pollinator garden. The project was delayed the first season (2021-22) after a collaborative decision was made by the volunteers and City staff that the initial park identified for the project (Riverrain) did not offer a suitable site. Nault Park was then selected and the plans, permissions, and paperwork with the City were negotiated between August 2022 and June 2023 so that approval to start the garden could be obtained. In the summer of 2023, the Nault Park Pollinator Garden was planted.
The design of the garden and plant selection was guided by consultation with Sundaura Alford-Purvis, of A Cultivated Art. Plants were sourced from Ontario Native Plants, Ferguson Tree Nursery, Fletcher Wildlife Gardens and A Cultivated Art. In all, the gardens include 31 different species of native plants and more than 230 plants. Due to the soil conditions, the City required that it be a no-dig garden so the gardens were built using the “lasagna” method with a cardboard base over the existing sod and then layers of straw, compost, soil and a topping of mulch. Seventeen volunteers contributed time over 2 weekends in June 2023 to build and plant the gardens.
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On September 9, 2023, the VCA held a celebration for the Nault Park Pollinator Garden. The event was opened by a blessing given by a First Nations Elder and activities included the unveiling of the garden sign, a garden tour, information on pollinator gardens, and a giveaway of native plants and seeds, along with refreshments. The celebration was a recognition of the importance of pollinators gardens and an appreciation of what it took to get this garden into the ground – 150 hours of volunteer work, over $1,000 in donations of plants, supplies and services along with City funding of approximately $3,400.
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The Nault Park Pollinator Garden has now had two seasons of growth. Community volunteers continue to maintain the gardens, but little work is required because the gardens are so densely planted and well established.
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Since its first season, numerous pollinator species have been documented in the Nault Park Pollinator Garden.
For more information contact the Vanier Community Association at vca.acv@gmail.com