As pollinator populations continue to decline, Durham Region is giving residents a way to help – the Durham Environment and Climate Advisory Committee (DECAC) is planning native seed giveaways for spring. This year will be the fourth giveaway, with seeds available at locations across the region in April and May.
The seeds will be given out at the region’s annual compost giveaways, and dates can be found on their website. During the DECAC meeting in January, Durham Region senior planner Amanda Bathe announced that the committee has started to source the seeds for this year.
Dimitri Stathopoulos is a member of the DECAC, and he explained in an email that the seed giveaway arose as a way to increase pollinator habitats in the region. He said this initiative came about because of the committee’s mandate to advise on potential community outreach programs that could increase environmental awareness and appreciation in the region.
Stathopoulos said the preparation requires a lot of volunteers who help package the seeds once they’re purchased from a local nursery.
“One of our members teaches at St. Stephen Catholic Secondary School, who hopes to put together over 1000 packets this year,” he wrote. “In addition to the more than 1000 other packets that will be put together by our members.”
Amanda Bathe works as a staff liaison for DECAC, and she said the committee tries to source all-native wildflower seeds to help promote native gardens. One of the main goals of the giveaway, according to Bathe, is to spark conversations.
“That’s one thing, raising awareness about the importance of pollinators and what they do for the community and how they help with food production across the region,” she explained.
The decision to distribute the seeds at compost giveaway events came about because the committee wanted to reach a population that might actually plant the seeds, Bathe said, since the people coming to collect compost are likely to already have a garden in their yard or their community.
The compost giveaways bring in a large amount of people – sometimes more than a thousand, Bathe said – which allows for many opportunities to talk to residents about the benefits of pollinators and to give the seeds away.
Stathopoulos said the committee plans to continue the program in the future, because they have been having successful giveaways since 2022.
“[We] are hoping to continue this tradition as residents have expressed excitement over the success of the plants in their gardens,” he said.