Trafalgar Wildflower Garden

Photo of Sheridan's Wildflower Garden in 2018.

The Wildflower Garden is home to 25 native species of wildflowers, grasses and perennial groundcover. It is located at a 7,000 sq ft site near the Athletic Centre on the west side of the Trafalgar campus.  

Why Wildflowers?
Wildflowers play an important role in enhancing biodiversity. They attract pollinators to the garden – bees, butterflies, beetles, among others, offering them nectar and pollen for their food. In turn, these insects help fertilize crops that become food for humans. The insects themselves act as a source of food for other wildlife that is above them in the food chain. 

Wildflowers grow naturally and evolve over the millennia. Different species adapt to various types of terrain and conditions from quiet woodlands to remote mountain slopes to abandoned city lots. There are more than 2,200 native species in Canada. Each has its own colour, aroma, shape and texture, making your encounter a unique and delightful experience. 

Photo of volunteers planting native species in the wildflower garden.

Significance of the Garden
The Sheridan Wildflower Garden has been created to support pollinators and maintain a healthy ecosystem on campus. It aims to bring the beauty and wonder of nature to campus while fostering a sense of environmental stewardship in our community. 

The Garden site was previously overgrown with invasive Buckthorn, which was completely removed and replaced with native species. The new garden will help prevent the return of invasive species. 

The pollinators attracted by the Wildflower Garden will help pollinate the crops and plants being grown in the adjacent Community Garden.

LEFT: Butterfly Weed. MIDDLE: Wild Geranium. RIGHT: Wild Strawberry.

Plant Species
To learn about how to identify the plants and how to grow them, you can click the links below:

Wildflower Species

Native Grasses

Perennial Groundcover

Three volunteers smile at the camera as they weed, and plant flowers.

About the Wildflower and Pollinator Protection and Enhance Program
The project started in the spring of 2018 and is near its completion in the summer of 2019. It was designed to protect and enhance habitat for pollinators on campus. Building on the experience of previous biodiversity initiatives, this project is made up of three interconnected components. First, the Wildflower Garden has added an additional 300 pots of native wildflowers and native grass to the garden space, thanks to the help of volunteers from the Sheridan community.

Second, two workshops have been provided to educate the community on the importance of pollinators and how to create a pollinator garden in the fall of 2018. The first one was provided by Pollinator Partnership on the basics about pollinators and how to help them. The second one was provided in collaboration with several partners, including Carolinian Canada, WWF and Oakvillegreen Conservation Association. During the workshop, participants were given a guided tour to two pollinator gardens at Sheridan and learned about how to identify the native species. As well, the online resources, In The Zone, were introduced.

Third, garden resources are being developed for the Wildflower Garden and the Medicine Wheel Garden, which will support garden maintenance and help the community to have a better appreciation of our native gardens.

The project was sponsored by the TD Friends of the Environment Foundation and Canada Summer Jobs.