SUBMITTED PHOTO Adair Prouty stands in a field of daffodil blooms at Len Mitzel Meadow earlier this year. The daffodil bulbs were planted last fall and there are opportunities for volunteers to plant more on Sept. 21 and 28.
There are two opportunities next month for volunteers to help plant daffodil bulbs in the community.
The Daffodil Project will be planting 20,000 bulbs at Pierce Place (near the teepee) on Sept. 21, and another 20,000 bulbs on Sept. 28 at Len Mitzel Meadow.
It’s the most bulbs ever in one planting season. The previous record was 30,000.
John Pierce donated 20,000 bulbs last fall in memory of his wife, Anne Marie, who passed away in March 2016, and their son Darrell. The chosen location is particularly fitting considering the nearby baseball diamonds acknowledging Darrell’s love of sports, and in particular baseball.
In 2018, Adair Prouty announced a donation of 20,000 bulbs in honour of the late Mitzel, former MLA for Cypress-Medicine Hat. Len Mitzel Meadow is between Shepherd Crescent and the Trans-Canada Highway near the College Avenue overpass.
Due to support from local businesses and individuals who provide free use of equipment or donate items for planting days, 100 per cent of all donations go to purchase bulbs.
An abundance of volunteers has made it possible to plant this volume of bulbs in a day.
If you would like to volunteer an hour or two of your time to help plant daffodil bulbs there are a several ways to participate. People are needed to fill buckets with bulbs, others place the actual bulbs in the furrows that are created with machinery. There are also rakes and shovels to pull the soil back on top of those bulbs. Other people lightly step on the furrows to ensure the bulbs are snug in the ground. Volunteers are normally scheduled for an hour or two.
There are always drinks provided and some home-baking to keep everyone’s energy levels up.
If you would like to volunteer between 9:30 a.m. and 2 p.m. please send an email and the time you’d like to come. It helps to know when you are coming so there will be coverage for the whole event.
Email: hatdaffodils@gmail.com
For more information about The Daffodil Project, website: medhatdaffodils.wordpress.com
Telephone: 403-528-8635
