Huron County Backyard Ecosystems

09/01/2026

🎉 Congratulations to our August photo draw winner, Kaeleigh Vanderloop!

And a huge thank you to everyone who entered this month. Every photo represents someone in Huron County who chose to do their 'little bit of good' — planting something native, creating habitat, supporting pollinators, and helping rebuild the ecosystem right where they live. 🌿

One person planting one native plant might seem like a small thing. But when people all across our county start doing it together, those small actions add up to something much bigger.

That’s what is all about. And thank you SO much to our August Sponsor for their generous prize donation! Please continue to support our amazing Native Plant Nurseries every chance you get! Don't forget about purchasing gift cards, which helps our nurseries AND encourages even more native plants to be planted!💚

Stay tuned… because we have ONE draw left for 2026!

📸 September 30th is the final photo draw of the year — and it’s the GRAND PRIZE!

If you’ve planted a native plant anywhere in Huron County this year, the hard part is already done. Take a photo, tag us, and help show everyone else what’s possible when a whole county starts planting it forward. 🌱

08/31/2026

Just over a month away! I'm very excited! Planting native plants in the fall has SO many advantages! Just remember to label them well!

It's coming! Our fall native tree and plant sale AND the launch of Tree People!

08/31/2026

Juniper says our hemlocks are getting big and must go! Amazing deals on sizes from 3 ft to 6 ft plus!

08/31/2026

This is a great initiative for Bluewater residents. Lots of beautiful native and Carolinian trees to choose from! It's almost too easy to plant native! Lol

🌳 A Friendly Reminder About Bluewater's Tree Planting Program 🌳

As a reminder, requests for Bluewater's Tree Planting Program are being accepted until September 14, 2026!

Did you know that Bluewater plants a minimum of 150 trees each year as part of its commitment to protecting and enhancing our community's tree canopy? Trees provide shade, improve air quality, support wildlife habitat, help manage stormwater, and add beauty to our parks, neighbourhoods, and public spaces.

Residents can request a tree for planting on municipal property, including boulevards, road allowances, parks, trails, and other public lands where appropriate. The program applies throughout the Municipality of Bluewater.

To help ensure trees can thrive for generations to come, proposed planting locations are reviewed for factors such as available growing space, existing trees, utilities, drainage infrastructure, sidewalks, roads, streetlights, and traffic sightlines. These guidelines help protect both the long-term health of the tree and municipal infrastructure. Not every location will be suitable for planting, but every request is reviewed with the goal of supporting a healthy and diverse tree canopy across Bluewater.

🌱 Together, we're growing a greener Bluewater.

Request here: https://forms.municipalityofbluewater.ca/Public-Works/Fall-2026-Tree-Requests

08/29/2026

3 days left in the contest! Please read on, this is what it's all about 🫶🏻

We are away at the Royal Ontario Museum enjoying the special exhibit about bees. I was so thoroughly impressed that there was all kinds of different native bees being showcased instead of just being about the honeybee. We were even able to see an exhibit of the Rusty patched bumblebee.😅 Don't mind my children, but how amazing is this 🐝. I've had many conversations with my kids about making sure they remember the monarch butterfly because someday it may no longer be around, similar to what has happened with the Rusty patched bumblebee. Hope we can all do it little bit of good, and ensure this doesn't happen!

Please plant a native plant, just one is all it takes! More is always better! Take a photo of the native plant, post it publicly and tag us!

08/25/2026

🌿 7 DAYS TO GO! 🌿

Can I ask a favor? Can you please share this?

We’re officially into the 7-day countdown to this month’s draw, and this is a really exciting one!

If you’ve planted even ONE native plant anywhere in Huron County this year, you already qualify. The hard part is done. Now all you need to do is take a photo, share it, and tag us so we can see what you’ve added. 📸

And yes, there’s a great prize up for grabs — but the contest is about something bigger too.

Every time you share what you’ve planted, you’re showing other everyday people in Huron County that this is something they can do too. It doesn’t have to be a huge garden, a restored meadow, or some massive project. One native plant in a garden bed or even a pot counts.

Because it’s not enough for one or two people to quietly do all of this work on their own.

We need thousands of people doing ONE small thing.

There are more than 60,000 people living in Huron County. Imagine what our communities could look like if even a fraction of us added one native plant, left a little more habitat, supported one more pollinator, or inspired one neighbour to do the same. 🐝🦋

That’s why we want to see what you’re doing — and why we want you to share it.

Already entered earlier this year? If you weren’t a winner, **enter again!** Every new native plant gives you another reason to help spread the word.

🌱 Plant native.
📸 Take a photo.
🏷️ Tag us.
🎉 You’re entered.

7 days until the draw!

08/20/2026

🦋 This is what is all about! Don't forget to enter the August Photo Draw! The prizes just got better!

This Giant Swallowtail recently stopped by my young hop tree — one of its host plants that naturally grows in neighboring counties just south of Huron County. It also visited my prickly ash trees!

I love seeing things like this because it really drives home the point that even one native plant can make a difference. Your plant doesn't have to be huge or covered in flowers to already be doing some pretty important work.

And speaking of planting native... we're officially into the second half of August, which is usually when most of our entries start rolling in!

If you've added ANY new native plant to your Huron County yard, garden or pots this year, you qualify. 🌱 It doesn't have to be blooming, and it doesn't have to look particularly impressive yet. If you planted it in 2026, it counts!

Already entered in a previous month? Enter again! As long as you haven't been a winner yet this season, you can enter each month's draw. And honestly, every entry helps — every public post puts native plants in front of a few more people and helps make planting them a little more normal around Huron County.

And August is a REALLY good month to get your name in. 👀

Our first-time sponsor, Origin Native Plants, has been exceptionally generous and donated a $125 GIFT CARD to one lucky August winner!

Part of the reason I love having native plant nurseries sponsor is that it gives me an excuse to introduce more people to the businesses that are actually making native plants available to us. We need these growers! The more people who know where to find reliable native plant sources, the more we can support these businesses — and the more native plants ultimately end up back in the landscape.

They help us. We help them. And the ecosystem benefits in spades. 💚

So, now's the time! Take a photo of a native plant you added this year, make your post PUBLIC, tag Huron County Backyard Ecosystems, and get your name into the August draw.

Let's give our new sponsor a great Huron County welcome — and let's see those plants! 🌿🦋

08/05/2026

🌿 𝗦𝗣𝗢𝗡𝗦𝗢𝗥 𝗦𝗣𝗢𝗧𝗟𝗜𝗚𝗛𝗧: 𝗢𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗶𝗻 𝗡𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗣𝗹𝗮𝗻𝘁𝘀 🌿

This month, we're excited to welcome Origin Native Plants as a first-time sponsor! Their generous $125 gift card is helping make August one of our biggest giveaway months yet.

But have you ever wondered why Huron County Backyard Ecosystems partners with native plant nurseries in the first place?

Of course, the prizes make planting native even more fun, and we hope they encourage more people to get outside, add a few native plants, and share their success with others.

But there's a bigger picture.

Every nursery that chooses to specialize in native plants is helping restore habitat, support pollinators, and make ecological restoration more accessible to people across Ontario. By introducing you to these businesses, we're helping more people discover where they can buy truly native plants—and in turn, those businesses can continue growing and expanding the availability of native species. (OMG take my money! lol)

It's a win for everyone.

🌱 You discover an amazing local source for native plants.

🌿 Native plant nurseries receive the support and recognition they deserve.

🦋 Our birds, bees, butterflies, and countless other species benefit from every new native plant that finds a home.

That's what is all about.

So the next time you're looking to add something beautiful to your garden, consider supporting the businesses that are helping restore Ontario's ecosystems—one native plant at a time.

Thank you, Origin Native Plants, for joining us in growing something bigger than a garden. 💚

08/04/2026

🌿 𝗔𝗨𝗚𝗨𝗦𝗧 𝗦𝗣𝗢𝗡𝗦𝗢𝗥 𝗔𝗡𝗡𝗢𝗨𝗡𝗖𝗘𝗠𝗘𝗡𝗧 🌿

The second-last month of our season is here—and the ante has officially been upped!

We are thrilled to welcome 𝗢𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗶𝗻 𝗡𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗣𝗹𝗮𝗻𝘁𝘀 as a first-time campaign sponsor. They have generously donated a 𝗦𝟭𝟮𝟱 𝗴𝗶𝗳𝘁 𝗰𝗮𝗿𝗱 for one lucky August winner! Prize also still includes the autographed copy of Our Green Hearts by the lovely Diana Beresford-Kroeger, AND a $50 gift card to Huron Ridge Greenhouses!

With summer blooms in full swing, this is the perfect time to photograph the native plants you added this year and enter the draw. Let’s make August our biggest month yet!

And don’t discount a young plant just because it isn’t blooming yet. Some native plants need a year or two to settle in—but they are already doing important work. They may be supporting insects as a host plant, helping hold soil in place, allowing rainwater to soak into the ground, and building resilience against runoff and drought.

𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝗱𝗼𝗲𝘀𝗻’𝘁 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗯𝗹𝗼𝗼𝗺 𝘁𝗼 𝗺𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝗮 𝗱𝗶𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲. 💚

📸 Share a public photo of a native plant you added in Huron County in 2026
🏷️ Tag Huron County Backyard Ecosystems
🌱 Receive one entry into the August draw

Thank you, Origin Native Plants, for helping us !