Last week, the World Wildlife Foundation (WWF) Canada announced that it would be partnering with Muskoka, Ont.’s nursery and landscaping business Hidden Habitat to grow a 2,000 square metre native plant seed orchard.
The orchard is currently being created on site at Hidden Habitat’s 88-acre location in Kilworthy, and will focus on growing plant species indigenous to within 100 kilometres of Gravenhurst. The species include butterfly milkweed, blazing stars, bunchberry, and hobblebush, among others.
“We were fortunate to be one of the selected growers to participate and partner with WWF-Canada, so we’re really, really excited,” says Laura Thomas, the owner of Hidden Habitat.
The partnership is part of WWF-Canada’s goal to restore one million hectares of lost or degraded habitats across the country by 2030. According to the organization, the loss of natural biodiversity across Canada from disasters such as wildfires, floods, and super storms is spurring the planet further into its climate crisis. To achieve its goal, WWF-Canada requires native plants to restore these habitats. Native plants act as a keystone species, providing food and shelter to other species.
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The only problem is that Canada’s native plants are in short supply, choked out by invasive species, such as giant hogweed and buckthorn. That’s why WWF-Canada is partnering with commercial growers in Ontario and Quebec to increase the supply of native plants.
“With restoration projects or conservation projects, especially large ones, where you need like a thousand prairie dropseed grasses, it’s almost impossible to find that number of plants in supply right now in Ontario,” says Thomas. “And for people growing it, it can take three to five years.”
As part of the funding for the native plant orchard, Thomas will hire a native seed technician: someone who has a specialized knowledge in where to harvest, when to harvest, how to harvest, how to clean the seeds, and how to store them. “It’s quite difficult, and there’s not many people that know how to do that,” she says.
Along with funding for the orchards, WWF-Canada has also partnered with local growers, such as Hidden Habitat, to create the Ontario Native Plant Growers Association. “We often worked in silos because we’re not like a regular garden centre. We grow plants differently,” says Thomas. “So, now we’ve found a way to connect with one another.”
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Through the association, native plant growers are able to exchange seeds, broadening the types of species they’re growing while ensuring they’re all Ontario-based plants. “Just because your plant is native to Ontario doesn’t mean that it’s genetically from Ontario,” says Thomas. “It could come from as far south as Florida. We have some species that have a large geographical window in which they will grow.”
Thomas anticipates that Hidden Habitat’s native plant orchard should be fully operational by fall 2026. At that point, she says she’s hoping to introduce an educational component to the orchard, leading workshops and training programs to engage the community and promote environmental stewardship.
Once the orchard is open, the native plant seeds will be available to the public to buy. Anyone looking for tips on starting their own native plant garden can check out WWF-Canada’s In the Zone program, which offers native plant resources for Ontario gardeners.
“It’s great being able to supply and support the larger native plant economy,” says Thomas. “It’s ensuring that there will be more native plants available to support conservation and restoration work happening in our own region.”
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