Creation Care at All Saints Parish – continued from last week - October 27

Last week, I wrote To the Saints about how God our Creator invites us to participate in His ongoing act of creation by caring for flora, fauna, and our neighbours. This week, we hear from Bonita Slunder in Prescott about how the Friends of St. John’s are supporting our pollinators, which are critical to our food supply.

Mary Kay Munnings of St. Paul’s, Cardinal and the Chapter of the Ontario Horticulture Society, Seaway Valley District, have also been actively working on supporting community gardens and pollinator beds.

As the Church, I’m hoping that we can use the technical expertise, resources, and networking available to us to encourage community gardening and pollinator beds at cemeteries and churches in our region – all for the Greater Glory of God and His Kingdom. --Fr. Jon Lavelle

Praise be you, my Lord, through our sister, Mother Earth, who sustains and governs us. --St. Francis of Assisi

The Friends of Saint John's Pollinator Project 2023-24

We know: Always Avoid Alliteration?. But how can we help it when we have 4 B’s, 3 G’s, and 2 P’s to unpack! Please, let me explain.

The Greater Glory Garden ( https://fosj2021.com/ ) is a community endeavour spearheaded by the Friends of St. John’s in Prescott. Using a grant from the Leeds & Grenville United Way and a team of dedicated volunteers from our congregation, we have converted an empty space behind the church and turned it into a heavenly haven where we come together to help combat household food insecurity while enjoying the great outdoors. Our garden has reserved four Big, Beautiful raised Beds for the Bees as part of our Pollinator Project currently being developed for the 2024 season.

Most of us know that bumblebees depend almost entirely on flowers for food. Flowering plants rely on fertilization from pollen to make new seeds and produce new plants. Bees help with this by transferring the pollen between plants. In 2022, however, according to the Ontario Beekeepers Association, beekeepers across the province reported devastating losses of up to 90 percent of their colonies due to colony collapse, with the main culprit being the varroa mite. Varroa mites are tiny parasitic mites that feed on the fat body of honey bees, which weakens them, leading to death.

Of course, mites are not the only danger—climate change, habitat loss, and pesticides all combine to make this crisis even worse. The problem is so significant that experts are concerned that they could affect not just honey producers but fruit growers everywhere.

So, what can we do to help the bees? Inspired by St. Francis of Assisi, “Start by doing what’s necessary; then do what’s possible; and suddenly you are doing the impossible.”

So, we will plant flowers that the bees love and perhaps even get our own hive so they can flourish closer to home. The University of Guelph Honey Bee Research Centre offers a plethora of information, courses, advice and a fantastic brochure called ‘Creating a Bee-Friendly Garden’, which is a great resource when establishing a garden for pollinators. The Greater Glory Garden Club plans to follow this easy advice and welcomes ALL from our community to come join us as we grow together; helping the bees, thus helping ourselves, sharing space and friendship and the beauty of Mother Nature and the Glory of God. – Bonita Slunder. The Friends of St. John’s

Resources and links to learn more:

• Friends of St John’s https://fosj2021.com/

• University of Guelph Honey Bee Research Centre https://hbrc.ca/plants-for-bees/

• Ontario Beekeepers Association https://www.ontariobee.com/