Connecting to the places we work through what we grow is one of the values that animates Bowstrings. Visit the Rutherford Cottage in Summer 2024, and you’ll see how our outdoor restoration efforts are taking shape in new plantings. Find the full list of species here.
As a lead up to this work, in 2021, again in 2022, we hosted Native and Seed and Plant Exchanges at the Mountain School. Sponsored in part by the Banff Canmore Community Foundation (BCCF), the exchanges “brought together a diverse group of people genuinely interested in the ecology of the Bow Valley,” explains board member Sandy Last. Participants shared their experiences landscaping with plants that belong and thrive locally. Bowstrings team member Chris Brasiby demonstrated a few techniques to encourage seeds with hard coats to germinate. Two Indigenous storytellers introduced the crowd to new ways to appreciate common species like kinnikinnick and silverberry.
Intrigued? Learn more in this short PDF introduction. Go on a Medicine Walk with the Bow Valley Food Alliance, another one of our partners and supporters.
Illustration by Jane Newman