Fletcher Wildlife Garden

Started more than 30 years ago as an idea in the minds of two Ottawa Field Naturalists Club (OFNC) members, the Fletcher Wildlife Garden has become an icon in the Ottawa gardening scene. Pioneers at the time, Jeff Harrison and Peter Hall thought that if you created a “natural area” with a variety of habitats – wetlands, meadows, woods – then local creatures would move in, creating a balanced ecosystem. And it has worked.

Run entirely by volunteers, under the direction of the OFNC, the garden includes a mature woodlot, a “new” woodlot, a butterfly meadow, an old field, a ravine, and a pond. In all of these areas, the aim is to provide what local wildlife need: food, water, shelter, and places to make a home.

A model backyard garden behind the interpretive centre demonstrates how to create natural habitat and adopt ecological practices on a small scale. A wide variety of wildflowers, for sun and shade, damp and dry conditions, attract an even wider variety of insects, including butterflies and pollinators, birds, and small mammals. 

The FWG shows off our beautiful native species in both garden and wild settings. We hope it also encourages residents to incorporate these plants into their own gardens. With gurus like Sir David Attenborough, Doug Tallamy, and Canada’s Lorraine Johnson telling us that, to save the planet, we have to plant native species and recreate ecosystems in our urban yards, the FWG has become an inspiration and a model — as well as a great place for a walk.

Purpose of the Fletcher Wildlife Garden

To demonstrate how to create HABITAT for WILDLIFE on a home garden scale.

WILDLIFE means

  • Insects, including butterflies, moths, and their caterpillars, pollinators (such as bees, wasps, and flies) and those that are predatory on plant-eating insects
  • Birds
  • Amphibians and reptiles, such as frogs, toads, and turtles
  • Small mammals, such as squirrels, chipmunks, and others

HABITAT means

A place that provides all or part of a wild creature’s FOOD, WATER, SHELTER, and SPACE to live in.

  • FOOD includes fruit and seeds for birds, nectar for butterflies, pollen for bees, fungi for squirrels, etc.
  • WATER includes the pond, bird bath, water barrel, and puddles on rocks and in some plants
  • SHELTER includes brush piles, loose rock walls, thickets of shrubs and other plants
  • SPACE to live includes small trees and shrubs where birds can make nests, specific plants butterflies need to lay eggs

Principles for wildlife gardening

No pesticides, herbicides, or commercial fertilizers are used. Watering is kept to a minimum.

Plants are chosen carefully with the following criteria in mind:

  • native to Eastern Ontario if possible
  • used by wildlife for food or other needs
  • attractive, non-invasive, relatively easy to grow, and fairly easily available

Diversity is important to increase the number of wildlife species using the garden and to keep things in balance so that no species becomes a pest.

All waste material is recycled. Soft plant material is composted and returned to the garden beds; woody material is used to make brush piles. 

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