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![\"Ruth](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/4102029_web1_260401-Prairie-Gerry-Pearson5-.jpg\")
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Ruth Bonneville \/ Free Press<\/p>\n
Longtime Living Prairie Museum volunteer Gerry Pearson, 70, has been making her way every week this winter to the museum where, in a repurposed classroom, she and fellow volunteers plant native grasses and flowers.<\/p>\n
Originally filled with native grasses and plants, the area had been taken over by invasive plant species, including a stubborn snowberry bush, which is proving to be particularly difficult to evict, Pearson says.<\/p>\n
The work follows the rhythm of the seasons. In late summer and early fall of last year Pearson, 70, was mostly outdoors weeding the grow plots and, as the weather cooled, gathering seed heads from sunflowers before they succumbed to frost.<\/p>\n
When the temperature dropped even further, operations moved indoors. They started the\u201ccleaning\u201d process by stripping seed pods from the heads that had been collected and stored in bags months earlier. Then, while the ground outside remained frozen, Pearson and the team started planting.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn January, when we opened up the dirt, it was so exciting, we were like, \u2018Oh, can you smell that dirt?\u2019\u201d she says.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe planted the seeds in little plastic trays, put them under grow lights, watered them and they grew. It was so much fun. I was there on Saturday and it was like a showroom. One tray had five different seeds and some of them are already three inches tall.\u201d<\/p>\n
The team will water and fertilize the plants until the weather warms up enough for a successful move outdoors. Some will return to the museum\u2019s seed plots, others will make their way to the newly redesigned entrance garden, complete with accessible seating areas. Even more will be transplanted throughout the city.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s vital work; with time and care, areas restored with a variety of native grasses and plants could return to being functioning habitats.<\/p>\n
By the time summer arrives, the fruits of the volunteer team\u2019s labours will be evident not just to museum visitors but to other Winnipeggers, as well.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe pass the seeds on to the city, and their teams go out to plant them directly into the soil. It\u2019s what the pollinators need to eat and grow and to be available for the birds. It\u2019s a whole big chain and we, cleaning seeds in that little room, are part of that chain,\u201d Pearson says.<\/p>\n
Pearson always had an interest in re-establishing the city\u2019s native plant communities.<\/p>\n
She had enrolled in courses at the museum and, after retiring, became involved with the David Suzuki Butterflyway Ranger Project.<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t Ruth Bonneville \/ Free Press<\/p>\n Living Prairie Museum volunteers Linda Chiappetta (from left), Sandy McCowan, Gerry Pearson and Sandy Handsford hold some of the seedlings in the Museum\u2019s greenhouse.<\/p>\n An avid cyclist, she had spotted the museum\u2019s garden plots during her rides on the Yellow Ribbon Greenway Trail, which goes right by the northern part of the museum\u2019s acreage.<\/p>\n A move in 2023 to a neighbourhood close to the museum motivated her to volunteer that summer at its Monarch Butterfly Festival.<\/p>\n It\u2019s a decision that has evolved into a year-round commitment.<\/p>\n \n\t\tWinnipeg Free Press | Newsletter\n\t<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t \u201cI love monarch butterflies, so I went and helped out. I then became a member of the Friends of Living Prairie Museum and in the last three years I\u2019ve become more involved,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n The non-profit organization supports the museum to fulfil its mission to conserve and educate. Pearson has benefited in numerous ways from being a member.<\/p>\n She enjoys learning from her fellow volunteers \u2014 \u201cthey are a fun group\u201d \u2014 and the camaraderie she has with the Grow Room team.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s so many good things about volunteering at the museum. The people \u2014 the volunteers and the staff here \u2014 are so genuine, and we have some really good conversations sitting there just cleaning the seeds. It gives me hope and joy in a dark time in the world. I can go on Wednesday morning or on Saturday and I get to be in this lush, green environment with people who are passionate about native plants; it\u2019s a lifesaver,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n If you know a special volunteer, please contact av.kitching@freepress.mb.ca <\/p>\n \t\t\t\t AV Kitching AV Kitching is an arts and life writer at the Free Press. She has been a journalist for more than two decades and has worked across three continents writing about people, travel, food, and fashion. Read more about AV<\/a>.<\/p>\n Every piece of reporting AV produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print \u2014 part of the Free Press\u2018s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press\u2019s history and mandate<\/a>, and learn how our newsroom operates<\/a>.<\/p>\n Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber<\/a>.<\/p>\n Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.<\/p>\n \t\t
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