Pollinator Week is June 17-23

St. Thomas was awarded the designation of Bee City last year and we are thrilled to be officially celebrating our first Pollinator Week June 17-23 with that honour! Market Day on June 22 will include some incredible special guests and activities, exciting limited edition menu options, and just an all round awesome way to spend a Saturday morning.

This designation recognizes the city's commitment to protecting and promoting pollinator species. This designation is a testament to the city's efforts to create a sustainable environment for native pollinators.

Bee City Canada is on a mission to inspire cities, towns, First Nations, schools, businesses and other organizations to take action to protect pollinators by:

• Creating, maintaining and/or improving pollinator habitat.
• ​Educating their community, employees and/or customers about the importance of pollinators.
• Celebrating pollinators during National Pollinator Week.

The City of St. Thomas Parks and Forestry division has already taken great strides in developing and caring for habitats by removing invasive species to allow native plants to succeed, working to naturalize spaces, and reducing mowing where not necessary to allow space for native plants. Habitat is food for pollinators, and habitat is also the factor that is limiting their success and survival.  Additionally, native plants are often more resilient and require less maintenance than non-native species, making them an excellent choice for homeowners and businesses. Using native plants to create pollinator habitats reduces water consumption and maintenance costs. 

“While most people are acutely aware of the honey bee's plight or the endangered monarch, many may not understand the importance of various pollinators and the impact that native pollinators play in our local eco and food system-  They are critical. Creating a sustainable environment for pollinators ensures our ecosystem's health and food supply.” Sarah Noble, Manager of Marketing & Communications, St. Thomas Economic Development.

The Bee City designation for St. Thomas is a meaningful step in promoting pollinator health and habitat restoration. But it's also a great excuse to have some fun learning and growing together!  Bee sure to check out the events page over at Railway City Tourism for all the community events upcoming to help celebrate including the Wild Wisdom Pollinator Tour and The Pollinator Week Scavenger Hunt highlighted below.

Not familiar with Goosechase?

HOW DO I PLAY? ​🕹️

1. Download app Goosechase to your phone HERE
2. Enter game code in app - EDG6W5
3. Sign up as a team or individually (you can be a team of 1 remember!)
4. Play runs from June 17-23 (you can still sign up after the June 17th start!)
5. Get out and start earning points!
6. Prizes awarded to the top 3 scores!*

*If there is a tie then the top scorers will be selected by who completed their challenges first.
Hunt closes on June 23rd. Highest scores will be determined after that.