DNV Butterflyway Rangers to participate in community events June 3 and 16 

VANCOUVER — The David Suzuki Foundation has recruited 20 District of North Vancouver residents as 2018 Butterflyway Rangers, bringing the national project to North Vancouver for the first time.

After a weekend of training in April, these ambassadors will grow pollinator-friendly plants throughout the district.

“As our gardens begin to bloom and pollinators like wild bees and butterflies awaken for the summer season, our Butterflyway Rangers are hard at work creating pollinator pathways to help these crucial species thrive,” David Suzuki Foundation Butterflyway B.C. team lead Winnie Hwo said.

The Butterflyway Project is a citizen-led movement that brings nature into neighbourhoods throughout Canada, one butterfly-friendly planting at a time. A Butterflyway is a neighbourhood-scale corridor of habitat for butterflies, bees and other beneficial critters. The program launched in cities throughout B.C., Ontario and Quebec in 2017.

In each community, the Foundation recruits volunteers called Butterflyway Rangers, who are trained and sent back to their neighbourhoods with a mission to plant networks of native wildflowers in yards, schoolyards, streets and parks.

“Our goal is to bring like-minded citizens together to support conservation and protection of butterflies and native bees,” Hwo said. “Pollinators are responsible for bringing one in every three bites of food to our dinner tables, so it’s vitally important we protect these species as climate change, pollution and pesticide use continue to threaten them.”

To establish a local Butterflyway, each troop of Rangers must plant at least a dozen pollinator patches in their neighbourhood. Each successfully established Butterflyway will be formally recognized by the David Suzuki Foundation through signage and inclusion on its website and maps.

District of North Vancouver Butterflyway Rangers will participate in community events on Sunday, June 3 (Blueridge Good Neighbour Day), and Saturday, June 16 (Lynn Valley Day). Residents are encouraged to attend.

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For more information, please contact:

Winnie Hwo, David Suzuki Foundation, winnie@davidsuzuki.org, 604-732-4228 #1255 or 778-866-6371

Learn more about the 2018 Butterflyway Rangers.