Think Globally Act Locally | The Power Of R

 
 
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Ladybugs, wrigglers and bats – oh my!  The Comox Valley Regional District’s (CVRD) “Nature Works” program is offering free education events this month to find out how some crawling and flying creatures can help your garden grow, without resorting to the use of environmentally-unfriendly pesticides.

 “Nature Works” is an education and awareness program that encourages the use of pesticide alternatives by people in municipalities with pesticide bylaws, and by others who simply want to know more about creating pesticide-free lawns and gardens. 

Upcoming “Nature Works” events:
·        Saturday July 10 at 11 a.m. – compost education centre in Campbell River:  Elaine Jansen, CVRD compost educator, will hold a ladybug release party.

·        Saturday July 17 at 11 a.m. – compost education centre in the Campbell River:

Elaine Jansen, CVRD compost educator, will lead a worm bin workshop.
·        Saturday July 24 at 10 a.m. – compost education centre in the Comox Valley: Patty Rose, CVRD compost educator, welcomes Tyler Johns as he presents a session on good bugs versus bad bugs in caring for your lawns and gardens. 

·        Saturday July 24 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. – compost education centre in the Comox Valley:  Master gardens onsite for diseased plant identification.  Please bring all specimens in sealed zip lock bags.  

Working in concert with birds and bats, good bugs will help your garden become a healthy ecosystem. The most visible and beloved of all the good bugs, the ladybug can be a gardener's best friend. “Many gardeners enjoy releasing purchased ladybugs in their garden or on their patio containers,” says Patty Rose, CVRD compost educator.  “A single ladybug can eat as many as 50 aphids each day.”   And, says Rose, if you compost, wriggler worms chow down on kitchen scraps and quickly turn them into "black gold."

The events at the Campbell River or Comox Valley compost education centres will teach you how best to use the ladybugs on your plants, how to have wriggler worms do their best for your compost and more. With a little help from good bugs, worms, birds and bats, your garden can stay healthy all season long. You may never need to use a pesticide again.  

In addition to the special “Nature Works” information sessions at the compost education centres, the CVRD “Nature Works” display will be set up this summer season at the Comox Valley mid-week farmer’s market in the parking lot next to the I-Hos Gallery on Comox Road in Courtenay. 

The Comox Valley Regional District (CVRD) is a partnership of three electoral areas and three municipalities providing nearly 60,000 residents with 85 services -- from parks to full-service sports facilities to a solid waste system that serves both the CVRD and the Strathcona Regional District.

Media contact:
Koreen Gurak
Manager of communications
 


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