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Local Initiatives Showcase Native Species and their Pollinators
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For two months we have been deep diving into nature, walking trails with Master Naturalist Bob Bowles, and noticing every butterfly that flutters across our path.
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Now we are excited to return after a year to the four-acre haven of native plants at Murphy's Bluff, to tour the habitat created by our Butterfly Ranger friends Dr. Charles Murphy and Suzanne Jarvis.
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Join experts, experienced gardeners and local native seed and pollinator groups for a habitat walk and garden talk.
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Habitat garden tour at Murphy's Bluff
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Lunch by Osprey Museum in Rob Roy
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Regenerative Planting Presentation by Grey Bruce Native Seed Bank
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If you have them, bring your butterfly nets, guide books and a 10x hand lens.
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Contact events.thebeautifulbeavervalley@gmail.com to register.
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Everyone welcome. Due to the potentially inaccessible (non AODA compliant) areas and potential exposure to allergens and trip hazards, everyone is responsible for their own choice to attend and walk with us as you are comfortable.
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We look forward to being on the trails with you.
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Murphy's Bluff: Charles and Suzanne
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Butterfly Rangers Dr. Charles Murphy and his wife Suzanne Jarvis have spent years gardening their four-acre plot of land on Reid’s Hill as part of the David Suzuki Foundation’s Butterflyway Project.
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Charlie and Suzanne's attractive native plantings bring the pollinators that they love. Come and be inspired at Murphy's Bluff!
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Bob Bowles is an award-winning writer. artist, photographer and naturalist who was raised on the western slope of the Beaver Valley on what locals call Bowles Bluff. In the decades since retiring, Bob has become renown for his naturalist work around the world, as he dove into nature with the meticlousness of an engineer.
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Bob has an encyclopedic knowledge of pollinators like moths, butterflies, bees, wasps, and flies. He says: "The most interesting are the flies that are pollinators and many mimic bees and solitary wasps so you have to look closely for features since they look in size, colour, and markings exactly like wasps and bees."
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Nature's Story Lead Jillian Morris
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Jillian Morris is Kanien’kehaka and a band member of Six Nations of the Grand River Territory. As an Indigenous writer, she focuses on redressing history, reclaiming culture, and making space to share stories.
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Jillian says “I know many are like me and curious about people, the natural world, and this life. Walking around asking questions, examining things, exploring, wandering. My writing is a product of all that. We all need a place to tell our story.” Jillian leads us in giving thanks to the land and water and all the creatures and creation to begin our journey together.
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Grey Bruce Native Seed Bank
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Their Seed Bank is composed of local, native, sustainably collected 'source identified and truly wild' adapted seed, and their mission is to provide large quantities of archived, genetically diverse seed for conservation projects in order to support the restoration of natural habitats in our watershed.
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SPOTLIGHT: Growing a Resilient Future Using Local Seeds
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Plants grown from seed collected nearby carry genetic adaptations shaped by local soils, climate patterns, pests, and pollinators, making them stronger, more resilient, and better suited to thrive in local conditions.
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A plant’s genotype is the specific …
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FROM BEAVER VALLEY TO THE OYAMEL PEAKS: A Journey to the Heart of the Monarch Migration
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By late summer 2025, the pollinator garden Heather Reid had planted earlier in spring at her old schoolhouse was teeming with life and was home to beautiful monarch butterflies.
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Heather was inspired to follow the monarchs to their overwintering grounds in the mountains of Mexico. She shares their impossible ancient journey with us.
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BEAVER VALLEY DESTINATION STEWARDSHIP
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This year (2026), the focus is bringing nature-based Stewardship Circles to Engage Neighbourhood Energy (SCENE). Community is invited to deep-dive into nature to study and appreciate the uniqueness and richness of this watershed, ultimately creating a fullsome species inventory and on-line directory. As always, we continue to use rounds and story-telling and strive to see the whole picture.
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We are grateful for the past leadership offered by Bagida’waad Alliance and are honoured to have the charitable sponsorship of the Osprey Museum as our qualified donee for funding.
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This project is supported through a grant from the Community Foundation Grey Bruce, which is funding speaker fees and expenses for our SCENE events. The CFGB encourages endowment building and facilitates philanthropic partnerships within all communities in Grey and Bruce, now and for future generations. The foundation supports Grey Bruce residents through grants to community projects by nonprofit organizations and scholarships, bursaries or awards to students. It provides leadership in identifying community issues and convening discussion.
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Our SCENE project is informed by our Indigenous friends, who bring their voices in the spirit of Two-Eyed Seeing. This concept was developed by respected Mi’kmaq Elder Albert Marshall. It recognizes the strengths of Indigenous and Western ways of knowing and is a process of simultaneously holding both perspectives, in order to foster a more holistic and nuanced understanding of the world. It promotes a collaborative approach to learning and problem-solving, beginning with relationship.
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New to the SCENE is a generous grant from Capstone Infrastructure which is supporting our ongoing Stewardship Circles Engage Neighbourhood Energy project. Capstone provides local funding from the Grey Highlands Clean Wind Farm and the Grey Highlands ZEP Wind Farm. Capstone established a Community Enhancement Fund to provide funding for community-based initiatives that will directly add to the quality of life of the residents and community members living and working in the area near the company’s wind farm. Capstone provides donations and sponsorships for programs that support environmental, education, youth engagement, sustainability, technology innovation and local special events. Check their website for details.
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