Getting Outside
and see you at Earthfest!
“You have to be prepared to save your own patch”.
Mary Reynolds talking about her book “We are the Ark”.
This is a powerful and deeply moving conversation about rethinking our relationship with land, beauty, and what it truly means to care for nature in a time of ecological crisis.
City Nature Challenge: April 24-27. 15 guided nature walks and bioblitzes planned to get people outside, engaging with nature and making iNaturalist observations. These are all beginner-friendly. No prior knowledge or experience is needed.
Less Lawn More Life Challenge, 12 weeks of doable steps, expert tips from leaders like Robin Wall Kimmerer (May 7th) and Doug Tallamy, a yard health scorecard, and fun rewards along the way. You’ll start by seeing how healthy your yard is today, and finish by celebrating how much it has grown!
Do you know your region’s native plants well? Apply to be a Wildr Expert
Review plant recommendations
Add species the tool may be missing
Receive an in-app expert badge with weighted input
Citizens’ Climate Lobby Canada has just launched an open letter calling on Canada to align our financial system with climate science, strengthen industrial carbon pricing and Follow the Money to a Prosperous Future. The letter is part of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Finance’s pre-budget consultations.
View the text of the letter here and sign here. Deadline: Wed, April 29, 2026
Native Plant presale orders open now. Helping biodiversity in our own backyard.
On April 20th, at the Infrastructure & Corporate Services Committee meeting, a discussion on Recycling Services for Small Businesses and Non Profits (aka Non-Eligible Sources (NES))
(p.6) 2.1.3 EnviroDepots Use Limited to Residents
The former Master Service Agreement with Circular Materials (CM), which allowed residential and NES recyclables to be dropped off at the City’s EnviroDepots, ended on December 31, 2025. While that agreement was in place, the City was responsible for the NES Blue Box processing costs. Once the agreement ended, NES materials were no longer accepted at the EnviroDepots.
As of January 1, 2026, CM is required to provide depot collection for residents who do not have curbside Blue Box collection services. Since the City already has established collection sites, CM offered a new agreement for residential materials only to meet their needs. Under this agreement, the City is not responsible for Blue Box operational expenses and NES materials cannot be mixed residential Blue Box Materials.
(video 25:27) City Staff explain that:
The Blue Box program was costing the city $3M-$4M/yr. There is currently no “savings” as this was removed from the budget when responsibility was moved to Circular Materials.
NES consisted of 535 customers. To create a new system would need to include all small businesses (about 2100 customers).
Cost to start up a separate Blue Box collection for the 2100 small businesses would be difficult due to the spread out nature of the city and tracking the addresses for pick up would be an administrative nightmare. Cost estimate >$1M
Result: Advocate to province to allow resuming of co-mingling and pay CM for this service
Civic Administration BE DIRECTED to develop a pilot project starting as soon as practical and ending December 31, 2027 to allow Non-Eligible Source recyclable material from qualifying small businesses and nonprofits to be dropped off at the EnviroDepots; and,
b) Civic Administration BE DIRECTED to implement a Green Bin Program to add eligible small businesses and non-profit locations on curbside collection routes in Q2 2026.
This motion passed at committee 6-0 and will go to Council for ratification
The city’s Strategic Plan Performance Dashboard has 8 Areas of Focus.
Focus Area: Climate Action and Sustainable Growth
Outcome 1: London has a strong and healthy environment.
Expected Result 1.1
London is moving towards a circular economy that supports sharing, leasing, reusing, repairing, refurbishing and recycling existing materials and products as much as possible.
Action: Complete Resource Recovery Plan to maximize value and divert more materials from landfill.
Timeline: Q3 - 2025
Status: Delayed
Urban Roots Seedling Presale: for pick up May 9
Sat April 25, 11am-4pm Earthfest London. Lots of Kids programming in the Central Library. Experience Indigenous Ceremony and get inspired by all of the environmental action happening/
April 24-27, City Nature Challenge - 9 Guided walks (learning) and 6 bioblitzes (exploring) Register
Sun April 26, 12-3pm Plant Sale, Civic Garden Centre 1pm:Guided Outdoor Hike
Thurs April 30, 6-7:30pm Treevening: Introduction to Growing Fruit Trees at Home hosted by the City of London at North London Optimist Community Centre. Pre-register to receive a free fruit tree. (or get up to 2 at the tree giveaway April 22)
Thurs April 30, 7pm Edible Neighbourhoods with Gabor Sass, Urban League of London monthly meeting, Goodwill Industries
Sat May 2, 1:30pm Talk by Catherine McKenna, Former Minister of Environment and Climate Change hosted by Climate Momentum at Stratford City Hall. free but register or email hello@climatemomentum.ca.
Thurs May 7, 7pm Kickoff: Less Lawn More Life Challenge, featuring Robin Wall Kimmerer.
Sun May 17, 1-3pm Komoka Provincial Park. FREE guided forest walk with Larry Cornelis. Get outside, learn something new, and connect with fellow nature lovers Spaces are limited. Reserve by emailing: pollinatorteam@mail.com (note: this is not a typo)
Plant Exchanges at your local library on Saturdays in May; 10am-12pm.
May 2: Crouch, Masonville May 9: Stoney Creek, Glanworth
May 16: Pond Mills, Sherwood, Landon May 23: Byron, East London, Jalna
May 31: Beacock, Bostwick
Fridays for Future 2:30 - 3:30pm continues every Friday at the corner of Dufferin and Wellington streets. Bring a sign, or just come to chat and experience fellowship with other concerned citizens. This is a small group, dedicated to holding a place for youth in support of Greta Thunberg’s global movement.
iNaturalist is one of the world’s most popular nature apps, connecting people with nature while contributing to biodiversity science.
Unlocking Urban Biodiversity: A Guide to Higher Quality iNaturalist Observations
Webinar hosted by the Canadian Wildlife Federation held on April 17, 2026
Become a citizen scientist! Learn practical tips for documenting species effectively, improving your identification skills, and contributing observations that can support scientific and conservation efforts.
Nathan Earley, a PhD candidate at the University of Victoria, will share what makes an observation scientifically valuable, common pitfalls to avoid, and how your contributions can help fill critical biodiversity knowledge gaps. Whether you’re a seasoned iNaturalist user or just getting started, this webinar will help you level up your naturalist skills and contribute meaningfully to the annual City Nature Challenge and biodiversity science in Canada.
Explore the new iNaturalist desktop version: “a whole new world”.