About the Scarborough Guildwood Butterflyway
The Butterflyway Project is a citizen-led movement growing highways of habitat for bees and butterflies across Canada.
In spring 2018, we recruited two dozen residents from Scarborough’s Guildwood neighbourhood to become Butterflyway Rangers. The Rangers learned about bees, butterflies and wildflowers and returned to their neighbourhood with a mission: to establish a neighbourhood Butterflyway with at least a dozen pollinator patches.
At their training, the Rangers heard from experts about local bees, butterflies and wildflowers. They also learned about community organizing, including tips on how to fundraise, host events and establish plantings at schools and parks.
They started the season by hosting native plant sales and giveaways and putting on butterfly and bee costumes for a local parade. During Pollinator Week, they planted wildflower-filled canoe gardens between two elementary schools and at two nearby churches. Over the season, they planted more than 30 pollinator patches, officially establishing the Guildwood Butterflyway!
The troop of keen volunteers continued their work in 2019, adding more pollinator patches to the Butterflyway, and distributing hundreds of wildflowers to residents at community events.
In April 2020, the Guildwood Rangers are hosting their own Ranger training, and have sparked interest in two adjacent Scarborough neighbourhoods, Birch Cliff and Cliffcrest. Watch for more butterfly-filled fun in Scarborough this summer!
Scarborough Guildwood Butterflyway locations
Use this interactive map to explore the locations of butterfly-friendly pollinator patches that volunteer Butterflyway Rangers established in Scarborough with the support of local residents, groups, schools, city officials and Foundation staff.
