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The Fletcher Wildlife Garden

Early pollinators at the Fletcher Wildlife Garden
The pollinator garden at the Fletcher Wildlife Garden. Photo by Christine Hanrahan.
The pollinator garden at the Fletcher Wildlife Garden. Photo by Christine Hanrahan.

The walk is a guided tour of the Fletcher Wildlife Garden (FWG) to explore pollinators, wildlife habitat, and native plant gardening. A project of the Ottawa Field-Naturalists’ Club, the FWG is now more than 30 years old. The purpose of the FWG was to create natural habitat typical of our area — a wetland, a meadow, old and new woods, a hedgerow — providing food, water, shelter, and places to live. Local wildlife quickly found homes there and our species lists grew.

We will explore who the wild pollinators are, their habitats, and give some pointers on native plant gardening. Bee researchers from the University of Ottawa will be on hand to answer questions and to help identify pollinators.



This walk is the first of a series of tours of pollinator gardens we'll be hosting across the city.  We'll have information about dates and times to hand out at the walk.

The FWG holds an annual sale of wildflowers to share the success of the project and encourages all residents to attract butterflies, birds, and other creatures to their yards.


Learn more about wild pollinators and Wild Pollinator Partners' events and activities at Wild Pollinator Partners.

Learn more about the Ottawa Field Naturalists Club here.

Location
Route

Meet at the Fletcher Wildlife Garden Interpretive Centre. Depending on the number of participants, we will divide into smaller groups. We'll follow the Bill Holland Trail, which winds through the various habitats, starting and returning to the Interpretive Centre.

The walk will follow dirt or wood-chip-covered paths that include up-and-down slopes. The trail is single-file in some areas, although it is mostly wide enough for two abreast. The trail may be muddy in places, particularly if the weather is wet, in which case strollers and wheelchairs might find it hard to navigate. Choose your footwear accordingly.


To get to Fletcher Wildlife Garden: the garden is located on the east side of Prince of Wales Dr., south of the traffic circle at the Arboretum. The driveway entrance is marked with a sign showing the Garden's heron logo. There is parking on site.


There are no public washrooms at the Fletcher Wildlife Garden. The nearest public washrooms are at the Experimental Farm (Map showing public washrooms at the Farm).

About the walk leader

Sandy Garland is a founding member of Wild Pollinator Partners, a network of individuals and organizations promoting and protecting wild pollinators and their habitats. She is an active volunteer at the Fletcher Wildlife Garden.

Guide:

Sandra Garland

When:
Date:Sat May 3, 2025
Time:10:00 AM
Duration: 1 hour 30 min
Language: English
Where:
Start:Fletcher Wildlife Garden, Building 138
End:Same
Area:Experimental Farm area
Distance:1.0 km
Accessibility:

The walk will follow unpaved paths or grass with occasional slopes.

Walker Sign-up

This walk requires you to sign up to attend or join a waitlist if walk is full. Please submit your email and the number of walkers that will be attending with you below.

3 on waitlist

Gallery
The pollinator garden at the Fletcher Wildlife Garden. Photo by Christine Hanrahan. A stop along the way, Jane's Walk 2019. Note the birdhouses on poles. Sign at entrance to the Fletcher Wildlife Garden on Prince of Wales Wildflowers bloom on the forest floor, Fletcher Wildlife Garden.