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Jennifer Leat and Tim Taylor
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Jennifer and Tim will talk about the inception and purpose of Waterloo Region Nature’s Pollinator Roadsides project. They’ll also share the details of their two pilot plantings (the first in Spring 2024 and the second in Fall 2025), including planning, methods, challenges and future plans.
Pollinator Roadsides is a community based project of Waterloo Region Nature. The aim is to replace current turf grass with pollinator-friendly native perennials to beautify the roadsides and recreate habitat for pollinators and other wildlife in the Region of Waterloo. The long-term goal is that planting perennials instead of turf grass will become the usual management practice in the maintenance of roadsides and it is hoped that this venture will become an example of what can be achieved across the province.
Dr. Jennifer Leat grew up in the UK and is a retired professor of Optometry at the University of Waterloo. Since retiring she has become an avid proponent of gardening for birds and insects, especially planting native species of plants. She lives in Kitchener, where she has a large garden, including a meadow devoted to native plants. She initiated the Pollinator Roadsides project in November 2022 and is its main project co-ordinator. She is an avid photographer and birder, and uses her photography to promote the use of native plants. She is a member of Waterloo Region Nature, Waterloo Gardeners and two local camera clubs.
Tim Taylor has been gardening in Waterloo since 1995. His interest in native plants grew out of a struggling lawn. He was inspired by Dr. Doug Tallamy on creating complete food webs. Since then, Tim designed and installed a community pollinator garden in his neighbourhood, leads the gardening team at his church, and helps to maintain a Waterloo Gardeners Garden in Waterloo. He is one of the early members of Pollinator Roadsides, and has been working with Jennifer Leat since before the group even had a name. And his challenging lawn? It has been converted to a prosperous and beautiful pollinator garden.
Photo: Judy Brisson