Creating a Circular Seed Economy for Fish Creek Provincial Park

The Cause

Historically, Fish Creek Provincial Park was used as the Bow Valley Ranch, leading to widescale introduction of agronomic species and a loss of native plant diversity. Since the park opened, Calgary's population has more than tripled, and the natural ecology of the park has suffered. Natural spaces have real and impactful benefits for the physical and mental health of park users. The Friends of Fish Creek Provincial Park Society (The Friends) works to conserve and protect Fish Creek, as its health is critical for present and future generations. Each year, the Friends spend a considerable portion of our operating budget on native vegetation to restore degraded ecosystems in Fish Creek. In addition to the high cost of native plants, greenhouses often lack sufficient stock to fill individual and industry demand. The Friends of Fish Creek have a goal of improving the access and availability of native seed for everyday people, as well as for restoration projects in Fish Creek. Our idea is to give away free native plants to backyard gardeners, community gardens, schools and other communal growing spaces. Then, we will collect seed or propagates produced by the plants during the growing season and transplant them back into restoration sites in Fish Creek. To facilitate this, we will partner with land developers through the Alberta Native Plant Rescue Society and salvage native plants prior to development. Collaborating with the community in this capacity will not only benefit individuals, but it will also result in a sustainable native seed source for Fish Creek for the next generation of park users to enjoy.

Who Will it Benefit?

This project will benefit backyard and community gardeners, schools and other communal spaces that want to plant native plants but may otherwise not be able to due to supply and cost barriers. Oftentimes greenhouses do not offer native plants, and if they do, they are unaffordable for community members. When seed is collected and shared back with the Friends of Fish Creek, it benefits the next generation of native plants, continuing the cycle. This provides a tangible way for community members to give back to Fish Creek, even if they can’t make it down into the park for other hands-on restoration events. By partnering with schools, we can educate young students about the importance of native plants and inspire them to be life-long nature lovers. Students can take lessons they learned back to their families, which will increase the net impact of this project on the community. Healthy grasslands and creek bank will be the result of this seed sharing project, and countless park users who visit Fish Creek will be rewarded by the beauty instilled on the landscape as well as the physical and mental health benefits of natural spaces.