Pollinator Pasture (2015)

Cameron Cartiere , chART Collective

12048 Vickers Way

Area: East Richmond
Location: Bridgeport Industrial Park

Materials: Native pollinator plants

Program: Community
Ownership: Civic
Sponsored By: Emily Carr University of Art + Design

Description of Work

The Pollinator Pasture incorporates a variety of native pollinator species grown from seed and initially planted in the shape of giant bumblebee wings. As an earthwork, visitors experience the pasture at ground level or from the planes flying overhead on the way to YVR. Each section of the bee wing, incorporates several varieties of native plants that bloom in succession, from early spring to late fall. The pasture has now evolved into a blended meadow of wildflowers and also includes a wild pollinator apiary, seating, and educational materials about the diversity of pollinators and their habitats.

Artist Statement

Cameron Cartiere is the co-founder (with Nancy Holmes) of Border Free Bees, a SSHRC funded public art research initiative. The Border Free Bees team worked in partnership with the City of Richmond and in collaboration with multiple civic groups and businesses, to create The Bridgeport Industrial Park Pollinator Pasture. Designed to attract a variety of native pollinators, including bees and butterflies, Richmond’s first dedicated wildflower meadow also empowers communities to engage in creative solutions for habitat loss. Check out the video to learn more about how this project transformed an underused greenway into a dynamic urban park that incorporates public art and ecological revitalization initiatives.

Additional partners include Emily Carr University of Art + Design, BC Hydro, West Coast Seeds, Vancity, TD Friends of the Environment, East Richmond Community Association, UBC Okanagan and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC).

Additional eco-art works supporting the Pollinator Pasture included Butterfly Net Sculptures by artist Sharon Kallis and can be viewed at https://borderfreebees.com/butterfly-net-sculptures/

Sharon Kallis of the EartHand Gleaners Society spent the summer of 2016 creating sculptural works for the pine trees lining the north side of the Pollinator Pasture. She, along with community members, harvested and processed invasive Himalayan blackberry vines. Volunteers turned the resulting fibers into rope during a series of early evening gatherings in the pasture, enhanced by performances and lively conversation. A community gathering, featuring nettle tea, bannock, live music, and beautiful weather, celebrated the installation of the final artworks – two large-scale butterfly nets.

Continuing on the success of the Pollinator Pasture, in 2018, Border Free Bees partnered with the City of Richmond Sustainability Unit to create the Pollinator Meadow in Terra Nova Rural Park. Nestled between the Terra Nova Nature School, the Sharing Farm, and the Terra Nova Adventure Playground, is the second pollinator project is the Terra Nova Public Art Pollinator Meadow. This continued collaboration with the City of Richmond has been designed to complement the environmental missions of our Terra Nova neighbours. This meadow has also been developed and maintained with support from the Master Gardeners — Vancouver and the Richmond Green Ambassadors.

Artist Jaymie Johnson created an an environmental sculpture project in the Terra Nova Pollinator Meadow entitled Bumble Baskets. Throughout June and July 2018, a total of 7 'workbees' took place in Richmond at the Terra Nova Pollinator Meadow during full bloom, in which community came together to use plant material found on site or nearby. Three afternoon sessions were spent outside with the Terra Nova Nature School Pollinator Camp, practicing ethical harvesting, coil-basketry techniques, and learning about our local pollinators. The remaining 4 sessions were open to the community and spent in the park, learning coil-basketry techniques, listening to live music, and sharing stories about pollinators and the relationship between our environment and personal aesthetic. Inspired by learning that abandoned Bumblebee nests are sanctuary for 250 other species, the resulting works are sculptures evocative of these nests, placed in a wildlife tree beside the pollinator meadow and apiary. https://www.jaymiejohnson.ca/tnbumblebaskets.html