What: Fathers Day Garden Party Tour, silent auction and plant sale.
Where: Oak Bay
When: June 17, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Tickets: $25 (no charge for children under 12 accompanied by an adult). Available online at uwss.ca or spca.bc.ca/events/event/fathers-day-garden-party-tour/. Tickets are also available from Ivy’s Books, Thorn and Thistle Flower Shop and Garden Works-Oak Bay. Ticket price includes tea and snacks at the Windsor Pavilion in the park on Windsor Road.
The garden tour is a fundraiser for the Urban Wildlife Stewardship Society and the SPCA’s Wild Animal Rehabilitation Centre in Metchosin. This is the first time the two organizations are partnering for a fundraiser, said Pamela Mountjoy, a board member for the UWSS.
Wild Arc is a hospital and rehab centre for ailing, traumatized or orphaned wild animals. The staff, nearly all volunteers, care for animals — about 3,000 a year — until they are healthy enough to be returned to the wild. The organization depends on voluntary donations; it doesn’t receive any government funding, Mountjoy said.
The UWSS is an Oak Bay group dedicated to the humane management of wildlife in urban Oak Bay. “We want to show people we can live in harmony” with the urban deer population “and still have beautiful gardens,” Mountjoy said.
She organized the garden tour, scouting out suitable gardens and following up suggestions and offers from the gardening community. She’s very excited about this first tour, which includes a wild garden, a native plant garden, small suburban gardens and a large uplands garden. At each stop, the gardener will be on hand to discuss common interests and gardening techniques.
A lot of Oak Bay businesses came on board, donating items for a silent auction. Pamela said the enthusiasm from the business community was staggering, and shows that “when people come together, we can build good, strong, healthy communities.”
You can view the goods on auction and place your bids at the Windsor pavilion. There will also be a plant sale there. Volunteers from Garden Works will run the plant sale, providing information and guidance to purchasers. Representatives from Wild Arc and UWSS will also be on hand to answer questions and perhaps even recruit a few new volunteers for their causes.
