About the District of North Vancouver Butterflyway
The Butterflyway Project is a citizen-led movement growing highways of habitat for bees and butterflies across Canada.
Butterflyway Rangers in the District of North Vancouver (DNV) joined the project in 2018, thanks to Richmond Ranger Joanne. For the 2018 season, Rangers started the first phase of Butterflyway Lane in the Windsor Park neighbourhood, volunteered for Jerry’s Garden and Loutet Farm and paraded at Blueridge Good Neighbours Day and Lynn Valley Day. In 2019, DNV Rangers broke more new ground and engaged more citizens and organizations to join the Butterflyway movement.
Ranger Kitty brought the neighbourhood garden club to help build the Sunset Boulevard Butterflyway Pathway, and invited Rangers Stephen, Sally, Paula and Evan to help with her project, too.
Ranger Kelly added a butterfly wall mural to her planting in the City of North Vancouver with the help of artist/Ranger Abby who volunteered her talent.
Thanks to Rangers Stephen and Sally, the Butterflyway Lane between Bournemouth Crescent and Dollarton Highway is now entering its third phase of expansion. Not to mention, it is now officially recognized as a local landmark on Google Maps!
Butterflyway Rangers from the District of North Vancouver wrapped up Season 2020 on a celebratory note!
On November 25, the Butterflyway Project won the Nature Inspiration Award presented by the Canadian Museum of Nature. The award recognized the Butterflyway Rangers’ dedication, passion and commitment to wild pollinators and nature.
By planting native plants in urban habitats, Rangers helped provide food and shelter for butterflies, bees and birds in an increasingly challenging environment. In the process of helping nature, Butterflyway Rangers also discovered their own strength and built relationships with fellow Rangers.
DNV Butterflyway Rangers had fun and learned the value of sharing with fellow Rangers during garden tours for National Pollinator Week in June, as well as garden tours throughout summer. Although COVID-19 altered some of our program this year, Vancouver Rangers showed up to host and join guided neighbourhood planting tours and community garden visits while following provincial guidelines, including smaller numbers, wearing face masks and social distancing. Rangers also met regularly on Zoom to share knowledge and updates.
That’s only a small part of what Rangers achieved this year. Two major initiatives took place in the 2020 season. First, 72 Butterflyway Rangers submitted 442 observations identifying 38 butterfly species to the David Suzuki Foundation BiMBY (Butterflies in My Backyard) project on iNaturalist — thanks to the leadership of the citizen science committee led by Tara Moreau, associate director of sustainability and community programs at UBC Botanical Garden and recipient of the 2020 Marsh Award for Education in Botanic Gardens; and North Shore Butterflyway Ranger Stephen Deedes-Vincke. With the help of UBC zoology assistant professor Michelle Tseng, Rangers will add to this initiative, looking into how Rangers’ efforts to plant for butterflies affect species abundance and diversity.
Second, Butterflyway Rangers in Vancouver, DNV, Richmond, South Surrey, Burnaby and West Vancouver planted 163 native plant patches in 2020.
With the help of our key partner, the Musqueam Indian Band, the Indigenous Pollinator Plant Map Committee (IPPMap) led by Rangers Selina Pope, Lori Snyder, Anne-Marie Fenn and Carol Both and Butterflyway Rangers will have the opportunity to learn from Jill Campbell from the Musqueam language and culture department the Halkomelem (hən̓q̓əmin̓əm̓) names of native plants Rangers planted in 2020, as well as the cultural stories behind each plant.
The most exciting part of the IPPMap initiative is the creation of the Indigenous Pollinator Plant Map by a Musqueam artist. The collaborative process will begin in the new year.
Thanks to Ranger Lori Snyder and youth artist Valentina Pagetto, the IPPMap initiative will be complemented by a 12-plant illustrated booklet.
Butterflyway Rangers have much to celebrate this season and much more to look forward to when the 2021 season begins in spring.
By connecting the power of human effort with nature, Butterflyway Rangers managed to empower each other and nature, one planting patch at a time!
The 2020 season began after 86 new Rangers completed the one-day training on March 7. Rangers received a copy of the 2020 Training Manual, which highlights the wonderful work Butterflyway Rangers achieved in 2019, a 12-plant indigenous pollinator plant list and eight illustrations of popular butterfly species in the Lower Mainland.
District of North Vancouver Butterflyway locations
Use this interactive map to explore the locations of butterfly-friendly pollinator patches that volunteer Butterflyway Rangers established in the District of North Vancouver with the support of local residents, groups, schools, city officials and Foundation staff.
