Coquitlam is shining the spotlight on the city’s bees, butterflies and bats as it looks to defend its title in an global contest ranking some of the best city parks in the world.
Last September, Coquitlam took home first place in the International challenge (large category) in Communities in Bloom’s annual competition, which ranks city green spaces across six categories, including tidiness, environmental action, heritage conservation, urban forestry, landscape and floral displays.
Every summer, judges from the non-profit fan out to hundreds of communities to evaluate how municipalities, industry and the private sector contribute to public green spaces.
The results are published in a special edition of the organization’s magazine. Last year, Coquitlam received special praise for the Coquitlam Crunch, beating out parks from other provinces like Ontario and Alberta, but also as far away as Kentucky, England and Hungary.
This year’s entry will focus on activities that can be dispersed throughout the community, a fitting green space theme in a pandemic world. Over the coming weeks, residents will be encouraged to “submit photos of pollinators, snap pictures at selfie stations, watch for signs in local parks with pollinator facts, and make their own gardens more pollinator-friendly,” according to a press release from the city.
Participants can share photos to social media under the hashtags #coquitlaminbloom.
Experts have repeatedly warned that pollinators are under increasing threat across North America, not just from the widely publicized ‘murder hornet,’ but also from an imbalance in wild habitat and cropland, as well as the effects of climate change which can lead to earlier blooming.
A collective of researchers recently found a lack of wild bees and managed honey bees is limiting pollination and yields for certain crops on farms in British Columbia and across the United States, with blueberry crops in B.C. among those most affected.
Without the ability to bring people together in large events, the city of Coquitlam is also looking to build a collective sense of community through a collection of individual or small group activities.
Under the banner of #CoquitlamSPIRIT, the city now provides a variety of at-home or outside activities for residents, such as arts and crafts, fitness, outdoor experiences, as well as sections for children, youth, adults and seniors.
They can all be accessed at www.coquitlam.ca/spirit.
Among other categories of the Communities in Bloom contest, Coquitlam said it is also compiling entries in the fields of Environmental Action and Winter Life, which will likely include the Lights at Lafarge display.
