The Urquhart Butterfly Garden is excited to announce our 2014 Summer Series. Starting July 19th, we will be hosting workshops with experienced naturalists and guided bird and butterfly ID walks in the garden with Matt Mills.

Matt’s free Guided Butterfly and Bird Identification Walks will begin Saturday August 2nd at 11am and continue every second Saturday: August 2nd, 16th, and 30th, and September 13th. Matt is an experienced naturalist and public educator, and many people who attended his walks last year can attest that he’s great at opening our eyes to the huge diversity of life that exists alongside us in Dundas and Hamilton.

The free public workshops will cover a range of subjects and will occur on alternating Saturdays starting July 19th at 11am.

July 19: Butterfly Gardening for Everyone! From backyards to balconies

July 26: Insect Lives and Loves: Find out about the insects around you

August 9: Dragonflies and their Kin

August 23: A Bee or Not a Bee? Learn about the thousands of bee species in our environment

Sept 6: Plant & Herb Lore and Bird Calling

Want updates and reminders about these events as the summer goes on? Follow us on facebook.

Great Spangled Fritillary Butterfly Speyeria cybele, by Ron Rowan

On July 19^th at 11am at the Urquhart Butterfly Garden, Dundas, Matt Mills will be discussing Butterfly Gardening for Everyone: from Backyards to Balconies.

Matt has been interested in butterflies and their habits for almost 20 years, and has a great deal of knowledge about gardening for butterflies. He specializes in the use of native pl;ants to attract pollinators but will also discuss valuable cultivated varieties.

“No space is too small for butterfly gardening – provided it gets some afternoon sun” said Matt. “Not everyone has the space to grow a garden of native plants and shrubs, but there are many compact annuals which are highly attractive to butterflies and can be grown in containers and window boxes.” He continued, “However, it is important to be very selective because some flowers smell and look terrific but do not provide the nectar which pollinators require”.

Get the scoop on butterfly gardening from an expert on Saturday July 19^th, 11 am, at the Urquhart Butterfly Garden, Dundas.

Butterflies need all the help we can give them.